INFORMATION NEEDS OF RURAL HEALTH-CARE WORKERS

Information workers, including physicians, nurses, social workers, etc ., in rural areas have needs for a wide range of specialized informati on, but have difficulty getting access to information resources. As pa rt of a rural health education project funded by the U.S. Department o f Health and Human Services, we studied the information needs of rura l health workers in Hawaii and their current means of information acce ss. Barriers to information access included lack of funds, lack of app ropriate hardware, infrastructure problems (such as poor telephone lin es or no convenient access to libraries), insufficient training in how to use information sources, and insufficient time to spend on informa tion tasks. Only a small percent of those who have computers and modem s and knowledge of online resources use them regularly. Recommendation s for solving some of their information needs include the development of a rural health information clearinghouse; better identification, tr aining, and exploitation of the specialized services available for hea lth care workers; and, most importantly, the establishment of 'rural h ealth care information agents'' (modeled on agricultural extension age nts) on each major island. The methodology, needs identified, and reco mmendations are applicable to any rural community