This project will create the Center for Rural Health Research and Education, a one-stop portal to rural health-related databases and on-line information resources. In addition, the CRHRE will provide tools to seamlessly integrate these resources with geographic data in support of epidemiological and demographic study of health problems in the rural, underserved population of Wyoming. Three pilot project in information access, educational outreach, and research will be developed to evaluate the CRHRE?s capabilities and demonstrate them to its potential clientele. The CRHRE will serve health-care professionals practicing in remote areas of Wyoming who need fast and simple access to information regarding health care. It will also include faculty in the College of Health Sciences at the University of Wyoming, the only university in the state, physicians and research staff in the Wyoming Department of Health, and researchers in the region and elsewhere desiring one-stop access to information about health care in a truly rural environment. The CRHRE will link its end users to on-line sources of health information, such as those provided by the University of Wyoming Libraries and the National Library of Medicine, through a simple, yet dynamically searchable Web site. Additional information such as continuing education programs, drug information, availability of health care facilities and specialists, publications, etc., will be made available through the Internet. The CRHRE will provide integrated Internet access to a variety of existing public databases and other resources on health care in the state, including those maintained by the University and by the Wyoming campus; tools and training for using this system to carry out research activities - such as epidemiology, disease registry, and demographic study - will be made available through the CRHRE. Many sources of information on rural health and rural health care are available through the Internet, both in Wyoming and elsewhere. The establishment of the Center for Rural Health Research and Education will bring together an interdisciplinary team of computer, information, and health-care experts to create a gateway to this wealth of information. Not only will this project address a critical need for Wyoming, where no such integrated access exists, but it will also serve as a unique resource for rural health-care research and education and a model for similar research centers throughout the region and the nation.
