MEDICAL LIBRARY ASSOCIATION ANNUAL MEETING
MAY 17-23, 2002
DALLAS, TEXAS

INFORMATION ON CONTRIBUTED PAPERS AND SPEAKERS THAT ARE SPONSORED BY MENTAL HEALTH SIG. ALSO, POSTERS PRESENTED BY THE MENTAL HEALTH SIG MEMBERS.

Sunday, May 19, 2002
DIVERSITY, DEMOGRAPHICS, AND DISPARITIES IN ACCESSING AND DELIVERING HEALTH INFORMATION AND HEALTH CARE: PART I.

The ability to access quality health care may be viewed as a "health parity" issue, particularly in the areas of mental health, chronic illness, HIV, and diseases that affect specific populations. For the underserved and underinsured, the lack of parity exacts social, economic, and personal costs. In some cases, managed care has only added to this disparity. Papers examined ways that obstacles to parity are addressed.

Invited Speakers:
Stephanie Normann: AIDS Outreach
Fredrick Sandoval, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill
Mental Health Parity and Disparities Among Diverse Populations

Contributed Papers:
Deborah Silverman
PITTCat for the Consumer: Designing a Public Access Catalog for a Specific User Population.

Jonathan Harmann
Multifocal Medical Information Outreach: Using a Variety of Approaches to Provide Tailored Medical Information and Services to Targeted user Groups.

Shari Clifton
CHAIN: Oklahoma's Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Information Network

Sponsors:
Chiropractic Libraries, Relevant Issues, Consumer and Patient Health Information, and Public Health/Health Administration Sections and Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Mental Health, Osteopathic Libraries, African American Medical Librarians Alliance, and Outreach SIG's.

Sunday, May 19, 2002
DEALING WITH AT-RISK EMPLOYEES

This session reviewed how library managers and co-workers can learn skills to deal with at-risk employees. At-risk people include those experiencing psychological problems, job stress and burnout, drug and alcohol abuse, chronic or acute illness, and other complications. Papers discussed how to identify personnel with problems and how to assist them. Types of coverage available through employee assistance programs were discussed. Other topics covered the link between mental illness and workplace disability, including lost productivity; the high cost of untreated mental disorders; and the major obstacles of getting effective treatment.

Invited Speaker:
Rita R. Handrich, Ph.D., RHandrich Consulting, Austin, Texas.

Sponsors:
Leadership and Management Section and Mental Health SIG.

Monday, May 20, 2002
DIVERSITY, DEMOGRAPHICS, AND DISPARITIES IN ACCESSING AND DELIVERING HEALTH INFORMATION AND HEALTH CARE: PART II

Interest in the use of alternative and complementary therapies (broadly defined to include everything from herbals to touch therapies to indigenous health care systems) has grown from the trendy to the scientific. What is less clear is whether consumer access to information about or access to these therapies is limited by age, gender, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, geography, or economic status. Papers addressed issues of diversity and demographics as they relate to these "other" therapies.

Invited Speaker:
Margaret Butkovic
Index to Chiropractic Literature.

Contributed Papers:
Julia Whelan
HolisticKids.org: A Collaborative Project on Integrative Medicine Web-Education for Pediatric Residents.

Margaret Allen
Hmong Health Information Promotion: Wausau, Wisconsin, and Beyond

Sponsors:
Chiropractic Libraries, Relevant Issues, Consumer and Patient Health Information, and Public Health/Health Administration Sections and Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Mental Health, Osteopathic Libraries, African American Medical Librarians Alliance, and Outreach SIG's.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 22, 2002
DEALING WITH TOUGH QUESTIONS

Librarians from all types of medical libraries are becoming more actively involved with consumer health and patient education. Speaker Gail Rink, MSW, award-winning hospice educator and counselor, shared techniques for dealing with questions about life and death issues, tough medical choices, and grief.

Invited Speaker:
Gail M. Rink, M.S.W., Hospice of Santa Barbara, CA.

Sponsors:
Consumer and Patient Health Information, Cancer Librarians, Nursing and Allied Health Resources, Veterinary Medical Libraries, and Federal Libraries Sections and Mental Health SIG.

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POSTERS

The Evolution of a Library Newsletter
This poster can serve as a model for any library considering a newsletter program as part of a well-planned public relations effort.

Rebecca Abromitis, Reference Librarian, and Barbara Epstein, Associate Director, Health Sciences Library System, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA

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