Delivering health information services and technologies to urban community health centers: The Chicago AIDS Outreach Project

Health professionals cannot address public health issues effectively unless they have immediate access to current biomedical information. This paper reports on one mode of access, the Chicago AIDS Outreach Project, which was supported by the National Library of Medicine through outreach awards in 1995 and 1996. The three-year project is an effort to link the programs and services of the University of Illinois at Chicago Library of the Health Sciences and the Midwest AIDS Training and Education Center with the clinic services of community-based organizations in Chicago. The project was designed to provide electronic access to AIDS-related information for AIDS patients, the affected community, and their caregivers. The project also provided Internet access and training acid continued access to library resources. The successful initiative suggests a working model for outreach to health professionals in an urban setting.