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Objective: The purpose of this project is to provide better consumer health information and services to a patient population of a hospital-based nursing home. Methods: A hospital partnered with an academic medical library and obtained National Network of Libraries of Medicine funding. Wii devices with television monitors were purchased to improve physical activity in the nursing home. All nurses were trained to use MedlinePlus, and computers were made available for their use to search MedlinePlus in the nursing home. MedlinePlus materials were added to the consumer health library in the hospital, and DVD players were purchased to use for watching consumer health videos. Results: The capacity of the nursing home and hospital to deliver consumer health information to patients and their families has been improved. Conclusions: A small project like this is a great way to introduce a health care system to the services and products of the National Library of Medicine and empower the staff to better provide consumer health information.

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Introduction: The rapid growth of social media provides new opportunities for non-profit organizations to network and influence the public. Rural non-profit organizations can expand organizational capacity and reach, engage more stakeholders, and acquire new donors at a relatively low cost by using social media effectively. Despite the obvious benefits of social media, many rural non-profits underutilize this technology due to social drivers in the community and lack of organizational capacity. This is particularly salient in rural Appalachia where inequities persist in access to broadband and wireless mobile services. Eliciting insights from the experts - rural nonprofit leaders – is critical in identifying strategies to help nonprofit organizations level up social media use. There is a paucity of research on social media use among nonprofit organizations in rural Appalachia. The present study fills this important knowledge gap in the literature. Methodology: This qualitative study used purposive sampling techniques to recruit representatives from nonprofit organizations located in an 8-county region of Appalachian Tennessee. Semi-structured phone interviews were conducted in 2018 with nonprofit representatives (n=21). Nonprofit representatives were asked questions pertaining to social media use, effective communication strategies, and best practices. Probing questions were used to explore topics further. The audio recordings of the interviews were transcribed verbatim. Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis procedures were used to conduct an in-depth descriptive analysis of participants’ responses and develop themes. Result: Four best practice strategies were identified: 1) “Know your people”—relationships matter: It is important to develop strong ties within the community; 2) “We had to come up with something fast”—resourcefulness matters: Nonprofit organizations should practice resourcefulness and adaptability in program development and outreach, 3) “Catch their attention”—the message matters: Messaging should be brief and positive in nature, and 4) “A lot of nonprofits come and go…”—the nonprofit matters: Nonprofit organizations should implement sound business practices. These themes highlight practical steps nonprofit organizations can take to enhance their social media communication strategies. Conclusion: With the emergence of sophisticated, easily accessible social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter, there is an urgent need to identify simple strategies rural nonprofits can employ to use social media more effectively. Our research addresses this need by summarizing the best practices in social media practices for nonprofit organizations in rural Appalachia. Nonprofit organizations in rural Appalachia can use these best practices to enhance communication strategies, expand their reach, and strengthen relationships within the communities they serve.

As the delivery of healthcare has become more sophisticated, scientific, and complex, the need for HIM (Health Information Management) professionals at all levels has increased, and the role and status of those managing these functions has increased accordingly. (AHIMA, September 24, 2007). Studies by the Institute of Medicine and others have found suboptimal technology use throughout the healthcare industry. The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) developed the e-HIM Virtual Lab (V-lab) to train students in the use of new technology applications in response to IOM findings. Faculty are the gatekeepers for use of instructional technology in educational settings. Many disciplines have evaluated instructional technology use by students. There are very few studies on faculty use of instructional technology. There are no published studies of the determinant factors influencing health information management (HIM) faculty use of instructional technology. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the faculty's attitude and behavior toward the use of the V-lab instructional technology. A non-random one group pretest posttest design was used to test the hypothetical Instructional Perception -Technology Acceptance Model (IP- TAM) for faculty perceptions regarding system functionality, usability and technology acceptance. The Path Analysis determined the strongest construct indicators for intent to use the V-lab were Perceived Usefulness (PU), Perceived Ease Of Use (PEOU), System Functionality and Usability (SFU). These findings support the recommendation for a collaborative examination of the existing V-lab systems to improve utilization and success.

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