TWIN CITIES BIOMEDICAL CONSORTIUM. CONSUMER HEALTH INFORMATION COMMITTEE:

The Consumer Health Information Committee (CHIC) was created in the fall of 1978 as an ad hoc function of the Twin Cities Biomedical Consortium (TCBC), a group of 31 health sciences libraries in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. The committee's charge was "to promote and facilitate involvement in consumer health information/education programs and services for patients and the public in interested TCBC member institutions" (Minutes, June 1978). This charge culminated in the publication of a monthly newsletter designed "to inform librarians, health educators and other health professionals of health information resources available to aid in promoting a healthier public" (Consumer health info masthead, June 1980).

The newsletter's editor, Eleanor G. Otterness, was an employee of Group Health Plan, Inc. and costs of the newsletter's production and distribution were borne by Group Health Plan. Publication of the newsletter ceased after March, 1983 when Otterness retired and Group Health Plan withdrew its financial support. The committee sought alternative funding through Metronet and a few other sources, but were not successful and disbanded in December, 1983.

The committee sponsored a 1981 health information sources and services workshop at the University of Minnesota and was collaborating with Metronet in planning a second conference in 1983 when it disbanded.

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The records include minutes of the committee's meetings (1978-1983); the correspondence of the newsletter editor (1979-1983); the correspondence of the committee chair (1983); conference and workshop files (1979-1981); resource files in the form of papers, bibliographies, and newsletters (1976-1983); subject files (1976-1983); surveys (1980-1983); and a photograph of a display showing how the newsletter was produced (approximately 1978-1983).

Conference and workshop files contain program material from two externally sponsored conferences as well as the planning committee and program material for a 1981 workshop sponsored by the Consumer Health Information Committee. Participant feedback surveys pertaining to CHIC's 1981 workshop are arranged within the committee's Survey files. Material from a 1979 conference on the librarian's role in patient education sponsored by the United States Office of Education Institute includes a program, a list of resource personnel, a list of conference participants, and a selected bibliography. Material from the third annual meeting of the Minnesota Chapter of the Society for Public Health Education includes a paper, "Evaluation: Proving and Improving Your Programs," presented by Walter J. Gunn, as well as a corresponding bibliography.

Papers, bibliographies, and newsletters served CHIC as informational resources. Material within these files are arranged according to authorship and include two bibliographies aimed toward the layperson that were compiled by Abbott-Northwestern Hospital; a March, 1978 issue of Bookworm, the newsletter of the Hennepin County Medical Center Health Science Library; a file of sources compiled by CHIC; a full run of the newsletter, Consumer Health Info, published by CHIC; the bylaws and interlibrary loan program of the Midwest Health Science Library Network as well as scattered issues of its newsletters; notes of a presentation given by Timothy Rumsey on health information; two works written by Donald S. Shepard (senior economist with the Massachusetts Office of State Health Planning) on the cost-effectiveness of prevention; and scattered issues of TCBC News, the newsletter of the Twin Cities Biomedical Consortium.

Subject files include minutes of the Health Education Committee of Group Health Plan, Inc., an interlibrary loan agreement between TCBC and the University of Minnesota's Bio-medical Library, and some news clippings regarding Wheelock Whitney (founder of the Minnesota Council on Health).

Survey files contain individual respondent and tally forms used by the committee in three separate surveys conducted between 1980 and 1983. Discussion of these surveys and their results can be found in the committee's minutes. A 1980 reader survey evaluated the newsletter's usefulness and examined differences between occupational positions. A 1982 survey solicited feedback from those who participated in the committee's 1981 workshop. A 1983 telephone survey conducted by Metronet assessed interest in the conference jointly proposed by CHIC and Metronet.

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Twin Cities Biomedical Consortium. Consumer Health Information Committee Records. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 15,168

Processing Information:

Processed by: Monica Ralston, May 1996

Catalog ID number: 990017329040104294

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Removed from this collection and added to the Minnesota Historical Society state archives reference collection are the 1979 and 1980 Calendar of Health-related Events prepared in 1979 by the Minnesota Department of Health's Office of Community Health Services and in 1980 by the Health Department's Office of Community Development.

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Health education -- Minnesota -- Twin Cities Metropolitan Area.

Library information networks -- Minnesota -- Twin Cities Metropolitan Area.

Library resources -- Minnesota -- Twin Cities Metropolitan Area.

Medical libraries -- Minnesota -- Twin Cities Metropolitan Area.

Patient education -- Minnesota -- Twin Cities Metropolitan Area.

Public health libraries -- Minnesota -- Twin Cities Metropolitan Area.

Persons:

Gunn, Walter J., author.

Otterness, Eleanor G., author.

Rumsey, Timothy, author.

Shepard, Donald S., author.

Whitney, Wheelock.

Organizations:

Abbott-Northwestern Hospital, author.

Group Health Plan, inc., author.

Metronet, author.

Midwest Health Science Library Network, author.

Minnesota Council on Health.

Society for Public Health Education. Minnesota Chapter, author.

University of Minnesota. Bio-medical Library, author.

Meetings:

Consumer Health Information Workshop (1981 : University of Minnesota)

Patient/Health education, the librarian's role (1979 : Wayne State University.)

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