Let me jump in with a controversial counter-intuitive argument. The net has had marginal or trivial interest, and bodes to distract many serious efforts rather than consolidate their impact.
Some examples: for decades we have known that post-exposure prophylaxes can reduce or eliminate the transmission of the HIV/AIDS virus (see http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5011a1.htm). Their use is standard practice in medical centers, but only for professionals. Citizens, with some exceptions for study groups or looser management, have to rely on luck whether or not an exposure "sticks" and matures into full blown AIDS. We know, for example, that 87% of those professionals end up immune to HIV, having had exposure and triumphed. But nobody thinks of expanding that pool to others. And the stuff has been online for over a decade. Last year, in Massachusetts, for just one jurisdiction, there were 732 new cases, at least 200 of which might have been avoided with timely PEP administration. At $400,000 from diagnosis to death - the average cost of treatment and illness - that represents $80,000,000 or so, more than enough to cover the shortfall of universal health care in this first universal state. But, the net sure hasn't had much impact, at least for those 200 or so cases. We've also known the cost-benefit of early education. It only gets better documented in studies like Heckman's - mostly online, mostly available to anybody with the curiosity of a gnome - like the one here ( http://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp2725.html). But it's still controversial, debated for economic reasons long ago disproved, and the poor don't finish school and are dumped ... like poor people everywhere. The Digital Divide is not a divide - at least in this country and in lots and lots of countries worldwide - between rich and poor so much as it is between seekers and finders. Whole cultures - in Texas or in Baghdad - insulate themselves from data and wallow in self-perpetuating myth. The net hasn't affected them a wit, that is, if they have half a wit left. They use it - like teens use facebook - to reinforce their own mythology rather than testing it, examining options, and making independent decisions. And the net won't do much more than print did. After all. There's always the bible, and if that's not enough we should just fold it up and go away. On Thu, Jul 31, 2008 at 10:01 AM, Champ-Blackwell, Siobhan < [EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > This is a huge topic. I see this from two sides - the health care providers > who serve low income and underserved populations are themselves experiencing > barriers to information, and the people they serve have barriers. > > Medical literature is an expensive product. Libraries at medical schools > and hospitals pay enormous amounts of money for subscriptions to journals, > databases, etc, so that providers and students can have access to the most > current and up to date medical research. Those not affiliated with these > larger institutions have to find creative ways to stay up to date. The > latest NIH mandate that research be available through open access is a big > step toward filling this gap, and I will be interested to see what kinds of > changes this makes. > > When you consider how a person recently diagnosed with an illness tries to > find more information on treatment options, etc, those who have little or no > access to the Internet are at a disadvantage. Many public libraries are > stepping in to fill this gap, as are many medical libraries. In Nebraska, > there is a unique and wonderful state funded service housed at the > University of Nebraska Medical Centers library called "Consumer Health > Information Resource Services". Anyone in the state of Nebraska can call by > phone or email the CHIRS desk and request that a librarian locate > information on a health question. http://www.unmc.edu/library/consumer/But, > how do people find out about services like these and others across the > country? As a medical librarian, I rely on contacts with community > organizations to spread the word on these kinds of tools. How much more can > we expect of these organizations, though? They are already overwhelmed and > overworked. > > I feel like I have been rambling here - not being clear because its such a > huge issue. I haven't even begun to think globally... > > Siobhan > > Siobhan Champ-Blackwell, MSLIS > Community Outreach Liaison > National Network of Libraries of Medicine, MidContinental Region > Creighton University Health Sciences Library > 2500 California Plaza > Omaha, NE 68178 > 800-338-7657 in CO,KS,MO,NE,UT,WY > 402-280-4156 outside the region > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://nnlm.gov/mcr/bhic/ (Web Log) > http://www.digitaldivide.net/profile/siobhanchamp-blackwell (Digital > Divide Network Profile) > Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Ilan Tsekhman > Sent: Wednesday, July 30, 2008 1:01 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: [DDN] The Digital Divide and Human Health > > As promised here is the suggested conversation topic for August (a few > days early!). > > That a myriad of socio-economic factors influence human health is well > known. But how about the digital divide in particular? Are there > implications on human health resulting from the digital divide? > > Please feel free to share your thoughts and experiences on the subject. > _______________________________________________ > DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list > [email protected] > http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide > To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] the word UNSUBSCRIBE in > the body of the message. > _______________________________________________ > DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list > [email protected] > http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide > To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] the word UNSUBSCRIBE in > the body of the message. > -- Joe Beckmann 22 Stone Avenue Somerville, MA 02143 617-625-9369 617-502-0418 _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list [email protected] http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
