Informing neighborhood health: A health information outreach project targeting community clinics

The purpose of the Informing Neighborhood Health project is to facilitate access to electronic health information resources at select community faith-based clinics. The project partners Texas Woman's University, Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library, and five community faith-based clinics located in Houston, Texas, that primarily serve the homeless and working poor. The clinics include San Jose Clinic, Good Neighbor Healthcare Center, Eastwood Health Clinic, the Children's Clinic at Northwest Assistance Ministries, and Bering Omega Community Services. The Informing Neighborhood Health project placed Internet-connected workstations at each participating clinic. The project also provided training for select clinic staff members that focused on a variety of electronic health information resources. A post-training evaluation was administered at the end of each training session. In addition, site visits and interviews were conducted at each participating clinic once project workstations were operational and staff members had attended training sessions. A final project focus group was conducted with administrators from each participating clinic. Clinic staff members have incorporated use of project workstations into existing workflow processes and are using electronic information resources to make better informed health care decisions for their clients.