For immediate release: June 26, 2007
Contact: Anne McMillin
Public Relations Specialist
775-682-9254
amcmillin@medicine.nevada.edu
School of Medicine receives grant to help senior citizens use Internet for medical research
Savitt Medical Library receives more than $46,000 for one-year study
RENO, Nev.—Terry Henner, associate professor and head of Information and Education Services at the University of Nevada School of Medicine Savitt Medical Library, recently received a grant for $46,549 from the Nevada State Trust Fund for Public Health to fund a study called, “Students to Seniors Connection for Health Information.”
“The study will address the needs of seniors, particularly in rural areas, who use the Internet to find health information,” says Henner. “We will employ a core group of college students to conduct outreach training at a number of outlying senior facilities and also develop a website to centralize health resources for seniors, especially targeting healthcare needs specific to Nevadans.”
The School of Medicine, in collaboration with the University of Nevada, Reno Sanford Center for Aging, proposed the study in order to reduce disparities in access to health information experienced by Washoe County’s rapidly growing senior population. The study aims to increase seniors’ Internet use comfort level, raise awareness and use of beneficial health information resources and develop a highly functional “one-stop-shopping” online, gateway service designed specifically for the senior population.
University and high school students, trained by professional staff, will act as facilitators to guide seniors in using the Internet to access health information. The goal is to provide seniors online skills to improve self management of their health issues and chronic diseases.
“Activities will take place in senior facilities in Washoe, Lyon and Mineral Counties and will include active living communities, rural and urban community senior centers and an assisted living community,” Henner said.
The one-year “Students to Seniors Connection for Health Information” grant study will begin July 1.
As the state’s only public medical school, the University of Nevada School of Medicine has been meeting statewide healthcare, educational, and clinical needs since 1969. The School of Medicine encompasses 16 clinical medical education departments, including Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Obstetrics/Gynecology, Internal Medicine, Surgery, and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, as well as ten nationally-recognized departments within basic science including microbiology and biomedical engineering. As the largest multi-specialty healthcare focus within the state, the School of Medicine employs more than 185 doctors who both teach and practice medicine throughout Nevada. The school’s statewide faculty physician practice group has a combined 25 different medical specialties with seven physician practice offices located in the Reno-Sparks area and five physician offices located in Las Vegas.
The University of Nevada School of Medicine utilizes a best-practice approach to medicine and is committed to addressing the health needs of Nevada now and in the future. For more information, please visit www.medicine.nevada.edu.
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