Community Networking '96 News From the Street

Telehealth and Application via Civic Networking

Mary Jo Deering
Barb Hau
Mary Jo Deering
Mary Jo Deering is director of health communications in the Office and Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, part of the secretary's office in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Deering also oversees the National Health Information Center.

Information is one of the primary sources of risk reduction, Deering said. In addition, the access to information is very empowering, by allowing people to take control of their own health.

Health information via the Internet is a hot topic right now, and there is a high demand for substantive information. One question, though, is how to provide quality information without being a top-down, paternalistic organization? How do you ensure reliability?

Another key issue is access. Community networks provide the best solution for that access. Right now it's mostly commercial ventures that are beginning to provide health information on the Internet: AT&T, CompuServ, HMOs, etc. Those of us that are concerned about having the technology available to people who really need it are now looking to community networks.

Deering summarized by stating three key issues to keep in mind: information overload, navigation, and access.

Barbara Hau
Barb Hau is clinical coordinator for La Plaza Telecommunity Foundation Rural Diabetes and Hypertension Project, and is a nurse with a background in health education.

The LaPlaza project is partially funded by the NTIA, and has the basic structure of a community network. The objectives of the project are:

To enhance health care targeting diabetes and hypertension
To improve communication on all levels, provider-to-provider, consumer-to-consumer, and provider-to-consumer/consumer-to-provider
Provide online access to health information
Expand the geographic area served by LaPlaza
Determine the viability of online access to health information -- will it make a difference in health care in the area?

Three area clinics are participants in the project, and included in the telehealth project's advisory groups are health professionals and consumers.

p> Project activities:

Content development
Technology development
Communications development
Participant training
Participant interaction
Evaluation

This project will not be an exclusive way to gather information, but is to be used to enhance more traditional ways of obtaining health information. Getting feedback from the users is important, to determine what is being used and how, and what changes might need to take place.

Reported by Jennifer Stone