Re: OA benefits associations & is easy too

[Marjory Waite <waite@email.unc.edu>]

Mr. Banks,

I must agree with Mr. Milliner. I am a librarian in an academic health
sciences library. I can assure you that the general public is very
interested in their own or their family member's health. They come to us
for the very literature you think that they cannot possibly understand.  
Some people cannot , but a great many can. At the very least they could
pick up on questions to pose to their physicians.  There have been many
articles written of late, in very prestigious journals, about the
importance of the well informed patient as a member of his or her health
care team. The days of keeping the patient in the dark are long gone.

Would you like a recipe for a low fat, sugar free cookie?

Marjory Waite


Kent Mulliner wrote:

> Having read this ongoing exchange with some interest, I find may
> experience 180 degrees contrary to that expressed by Peter Banks.  I've
> been monitoring a whole series of listserves operated by US TOO (for
> prostate cancer) and by Dan Cooley (www.prostate-help.org) in which
> monitoring and critiquing original and clinical research are pervasive
> themes (including guidance in effective use of PubMed). The sad part, with
> this continuing attention, is that much of the discussion is limited to
> abstracts (since the actual research articles are unavailable to the
> groups).  Of course, as a result of contributing to the ALPSP study of OA
> journals, I was able to point that at least one of the important titles,
> the International Brazilian Journal of Urology),was openly accessible.
>
> Contrary to Peter's assertion about patient needs and wants, at least for
> the sizeable prostate cancer community (and friends and families), access
> to current, authoritative information would rank near the top of
> psychological needs if not clinical. I am repeatedly astounded at the
> insatiable demand for new research findings and at the lamentable
> ignorance of most newbies ot the diagnosis of how to go about finding
> authoritative information.  OA is the answer at least for the first of
> these.
>
> K. Mulliner
> Rutland, Ohio 45775
> mulliner@ohio.edu