Selection Guidelines

Arizona GoLocal:
Selection Guidelines

Drafted from NMGL Selection Guidelines

Revised Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Purpose

Arizona GoLocal (AZGL) links Medline Plus users to health services in Arizona and directs users of AZGL to MedlinePlus health topics.

Format

Many health services organizations and entities in Arizona will lack websites; for that reason, AZGL will not restrict selection to only those sources having a web presence but will provide addresses and contact information for sources meeting the AZGL selection criteria, regardless of the presence or absence of a website. Selection criteria for web-based and other sources of health services information are included in the AZGL Selection Guidelines.

Subject Coverage

AZGL will collect a broad range of health services in Arizona as represented by the Go Local Service Terms, with emphasis on clinics, hospitals, health departments and public health offices, nursing home facilities, mental health centers, public fitness programs, public and tribal libraries, and sources of support group information. Subject coverage will initially focus on, but not be limited to the leading causes of illness and death in Arizona. These include heart disease, cancer, unintentional injuries, chronic lower respiratory disease, cerebrovascular disease, diabetes, influenza and pneumonia, suicide, Alzheimer’s disease, and liver disease. Due to continual changes in individual practitioners serving the state, individual health care providers will not be included in AZGL. Following the model established by the Tribal Connections Four Corners Go Local project, the focus of AZGL will be the practice of Western medicine, although health services representing other traditions will not be excluded if they are interested in participating and they meet the AZGL selection guidelines.

Institutional Subset Coverage

When there are several individual services provided by a larger institution (e.g. a home health service of a large hospital), the phone directory or website will be referenced to see if they contain a separate listing. When individual services are listed separately, and especially when these services are listed with their own contact information, a separate record will be created for each individual service.

Geographic Coverage

The goal of AZGL is to develop a state-wide health services database for residents of Arizona. As such, coverage will be for all 15 counties in the state.

Health Services with a Web Presence

Authority of Source

· The sponsorship of the site is clear. The credentials or qualifications of the sponsors are provided.

· There is a way to contact site.

· If the site is commercial, it acknowledges any commercial interest or personal point of view.

Content

· Pages contain a created, revised, or update date.

· Links on the site are reliable and relevant.

· Information on the site is unique and not readily available elsewhere. The information is not redundant with information available from other sources already in the database.

· The site does not contain inaccurate, erroneous, misleading or dangerous medical information, claims, or allegations.

· Most information on the site is available at no charge.

· Registration, an account, or password is not required to access site information.

Audience

· Consumers or the general public is the intended audience of the site.

Local Relevance

· The site provides information about a local or regional organization, service, or activity.

Health Services without a Web Presence

Authority of Source

· The contact information for the health service has been verified through telephone calls to the service.

· Professional credentials or licensing of facilities will be verified through credentialing agencies.

· Consumers or the general public is the intended audience of the health service.

Audience

· Consumers or the general public is the intended audience of the site.

Local Relevance

· The contact information directs consumers or the general public to a local or regional organization, service, or activity.

Go Local Announces New Search Engine

This month the National Library of Medicine (NLM) released a new search engine for MedlinePlus GoLocal, http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/golocal/, using the Vivisimo search software. Search results now include health information from MedlinePlus, as well as the health services in MedlinePlus Go Local.

This improvement was made as a result of popular demand and examination of MedlinePlus Go Local search logs, which show that many users are looking for health information as well as services. In addition to adding health information from MedlinePlus, the new search results also feature improved relevance rankings, links to maps and directions, bold-face search words in context, and an integrated spell checker that suggests alternative search terms and spelling corrections. Search results are displayed in two categories, one for health information and the other for health services, as shown once a search topic is entered.

AZ GoLocal and AHIP Points!!!

Now contributors to Arizona Go Local will be eligible to earn AHIP points, "eligible for five points per year under Section II Part 1 B (Editing: Web Sites, Mailing Lists, Listservs) of the Point Index. The online version of the Point Index will be updated to include this activity in the spring." Warning: if working on Go Local is part of your job, as it is for the coordinators and a few others, you are not eligible for these points. Others of you may be eligible, and volunteers definitely are. For more about the Academy of Health Information Professionals and the points, please see the MLA Web site at http://www.mlanet.org/academy/pointindex.html and http://www.mlanet.org/academy/acadfaq2.html

Meet your AZGoLocal Steering Committee

From left: Maggie Puzauskas, Jeanette Ryan, Jacque Doyle, Sheila Hofstetter, Mary Riordan, Kristy Stephens, and Cathy Jacobus at the May 8 meeting at the COM-Phoenix.

Interesting read on Consumer E-Health

The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion has a program to expand the reach and impact of consumer e-health tools.
http://www.health.gov/communication/ehealth/ehealthTools/default.htm

They discuss various ways in which consumer-oriented e-health resources enable consumers, patients and informal caregivers (and has the potential to enable a diverse population) to gather information, make healthcare decisions, communicate with healthcare providers and engage in health-related activities.
They stress that e-health practices have the potential to be a part of the solution to health disparities if appropriate and useful e-health resources are made available to a larger portion of the U. S. population.

Some of the e-health resources they have outlined include searchable health information which applies to Arizona Go Local's efforts.

Some of the their attributes for serving diverse populations include:

Access
Availability
Appropriateness
Acceptability
Applicability of content

Access and availability are significant in terms of making these resources available in libraries and hospitals where those who do not have internet, or need assistance, could benefit.

AZ GoLocal Steering Committee Meeting Items

Thank you to our Steering Committee members who attended the meeting on March 9!
We produced many "to do" items and are continuing to move forward with our project. Please keep us posted on your progress and/or questions for these items.

1. Encourage partners and committee members to ask for training in site use or editing.
2. Consider who in your organization you could involve and organizations we may approach for advice and input. (These may include advisory board members, steering committee or volunteers).
3. Begin identifying 10 to 15 high priority health topics to focus on in Go Local for 2007. Email to SC members for a review and vote.
4. Come up with 5 to 7 elements for each identified health topic that we will focus on.
5. Continue to meet wtih local libraries and public health departments to engage them in our processes and project.
6. Create AZGL Calendar of Events (link to blog).
7. Let us know if you have time to become a selector and we will provide you with a password to the Go Local input system.
8. Continue to communicate, give feedback and share ideas, suggestions and concerns on the blog.
9. Update your AZ Go Local binder with new information that we send to you.
10. Share your promotional items with those in your libraries, hospitals and other organizations. We can provide you with more if you'd like.

Things to also keep in mind:

About Page: http://www.azgolocal.org

Use .org (www.azgolocal.org) when publicizing the site (as opposed to our .com)

Keep your eyes and ears open for any opportunity to improve, promote and receive help with AZ Go Local.

About AZ GoLocal

Arizona Go Local is a statewide project of the Arizona Health Sciences Library at the University of Arizona. As a program of the National Library of Medicine’s Medline Plus, Arizona Go Local provides information to the public, linking you to health-oriented services and resources throughout the state. The database offers access to contact information, web sites and descriptions for services that include hospitals and clinics, elder care, wellness, support group, group and individual caregivers, and a wide-range of other health topics.

Of the 15 Arizona counties, three are included as part of the Tribal Connectons Four Corners Go Local. With a state population of nearly six million, the city of Phoenix being the fifth largest city nationwide, and 21 federally recognized tribes, many in rural locations, Arizona Go Local aims to provide a comprehensive, yet searchable database of health care services for all residents.

Through Arizona GoLocal, consumers can also link to AZHealthInfo.org, a web site that provides detailed information on a variety of health-related topics. Consumers can search for information about diseases, conditions, specialties, public health, rural health, health news, statistics, and can be referred to Arizona and national web sites specific to the health topic.

AZ Go Local Selection Guidelines

The Arizona Go Local project team includes health services in Arizona’s 15 counties for inclusion into the database. Selection of services is based on a set of criteria to provide the public with reliable and accurate information.
These include:

Local Relevance:
Provides information about organizations and services that are relevant to Arizona and is intended for the general public.

Authority/Source:
Sponsorship of the site is clear and professional credentials or qualifications are provided.
Contact information is provided (a verified phone number at minimum).

Content:
Site is current and reliable and links are relevant to the service and local community.

AZ GoLocal Project Staff

Maggie Puzauskas is our GL Coordinator. We are lucky to have her with us as she has a wonderful background in communications and marketing, and has enthusiastically taken on the demanding roles of coordinating our project. Call Maggie at 602-827-2060, and write her at maggiep@email.arizona.edu

Jacque Doyle is the AHSL-Phoenix Librarian. Call her at 602-827-2031, and email her at jddoyle@email.arizona.edu