Rural GRATEFUL MED outreach: project results, impact, and future needs

Area of Science:

• Medical Informatics
• Health Sciences Librarianship
• Rural Health Outreach

Background:

• The Library of the Health Sciences-Peoria (LHS-Peoria) serves a regional campus of the University of Illinois College of Medicine.
• Rural healthcare professionals in underserved areas often face challenges accessing up-to-date medical information.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate an 18-month GRATEFUL MED outreach project aimed at improving information services for health professionals in rural Illinois.
• To assess the impact of enhanced information services on rural healthcare providers and institutions.

Main Methods:

• Conducted an 18-month outreach project funded by the National Library of Medicine.
• Provided GRATEFUL MED training to 100 rural health professionals, primarily nonphysicians, across eight underserved hospitals.
• Delivered over 350 documents to project participants.

Main Results:

• Successfully trained 100 rural health professionals, enhancing their information retrieval skills.
• Facilitated access to over 350 documents, directly supporting healthcare delivery.
• Gathered data for evaluating outcomes from both individual and institutional viewpoints.

Conclusions:

• The GRATEFUL MED outreach project demonstrated a viable model for enhancing information services in rural healthcare settings.
• Project outcomes inform future outreach strategies for LHS and other institutions aiming to support underserved health professionals.
• The initiative highlights the importance of targeted training and document delivery in bridging information gaps in rural medicine.