Are We Making a Difference? Outreach Evaluation in Practice

Stud Health Technol Inform. 2022 Feb 1:288:283-298. doi: 10.3233/SHTI211004.

Abstract

Donald A.B. Lindberg, M.D., brought with him when he joined NLM an inquisitive mind, tech savvy, and new ideas. He was an early advocate of both outreach and evaluation innovation at NLM. Dr. Lindberg initiated and supported multiple pilot test and implementation projects to strengthen NLM's health information outreach to healthcare providers, research scientists, health science and hospital librarians, and the general public, including minority and underserved populations. He helped steer NLM's transition to the Internet, and NLM's development of a robust framework for evaluating Internet and Web-based health information dissemination and outreach to its many audiences. Dr. Lindberg's leadership led to numerous landmark accomplishments, including the capacity-building "Measuring the Difference" outreach evaluation Guide, and a multidimensional approach to Internet and website evaluation that placed NLM at the forefront of federal agencies using these new and emerging technologies to support their missions.

Keywords: Donald A.B. Lindberg M.D.; Internet performance; U.S. National Library of Medicine; customer satisfaction; evaluation; health information dissemination; outreach; usage data; user surveys; web data analytics; websites.

MeSH terms

  • Community-Institutional Relations*
  • Government Agencies
  • Health Personnel
  • Humans
  • Librarians*
  • National Library of Medicine (U.S.)*
  • Program Evaluation*
  • Vereinigte Staaten