Tribal Connections Project, Phase 1
Final Report:
May 1998 - April 2001

Overview The National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Pacific Northwest Region (NN/LM PNR), also known as the Regional Medical Library (RML), has focused library outreach on minority and underserved communities. The usual goal of RML outreach is to help communities successfully integrate Internet health resources into health decision making. In reaching out to these communities, the lack of computer hardware and the lack of training is often a problem. Because of previous experience with outreach to American Indians and Alaska Natives and because of the importance of those communities to the Northwest, in 1998, the RML at the University of Washington embarked on a special project funded by the Office of Health Information Programs Development at the National Library of Medicine. The project was dubbed Tribal Connections and it was to assist American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN) communities in the northwest in connecting to the Internet. The immediate aim of this connectivity was to provide access to health information. A longer-term aim was to minimize isolation and improve access to social and health resources for these rural and, for the most part, remote communities.

Index to TC Phase 1 Final Report Staff Overview Project Background Project Description Lessons Learned Accomplishments

Roy Sahali, an expert in community development and network design, was hired to manage the project. An Advisory Panel was appointed, with broad representation, including American Indian/Alaskan Native health professionals, experts in information and communication technologies for American Indian communities, representatives of Indian Health Boards, and experts in community development. The advisory panel provided guidance throughout the project in reviewing criteria, plans, and project implementation and evaluation. Tribes submitted competitive applications for funding, and sixteen communities were selected to receive funding and assistance. There was representation from each of the five states in the Pacific Northwest region, including large and small communities, proposing a variety of connectivity solutions relevant to their situations. RML librarians provided training on Internet skills for all but one of the sixteen sites. Hardware installation and connections as well as training for all 16 sites were completed by the end of the PNR’s NN/LM five year contract in April of 2001.

The aim of our approach was to:

• Establish working relationships with community leaders in health care, social services, and/or computer systems. Agree on project goals and objectives. Discuss and plan sustainable Internet connectivity and hardware maintenance.
• Encourage the participation of other community groups interested in access to health information--the health and human services department, the schools, a tribal college, an Indian Health Service (IHS) clinic, a tribal clinic, environmental scientists, Head Start programs, etc.
• Work with the extended community to plan for the best and most cost-effective Internet connectivity that can be maintained once project seed funding is spent.
• Negotiate on behalf of the participants, as a group, with other governmental agencies and private vendors to get group services and discount rates.
• Acquire and facilitate cabling and networking.
• Provide a regional toll-free telephone help desk support.
• Fund Internet connectivity for the duration of the project.
• Provide training in effective retrieval and quality assessment of health information resources.
• Encourage and facilitate a community health web site with links to NML products and other quality health resources.
• Follow up with communities on an ongoing basis to evaluate outcomes and determine predictors of success.