Discover Health Services Near You! The North Dakota Story: Part II.

Since the 2003 launch of NC Health Info, the National Library of Medicine has encouraged the development of Go Local databases. A team of Go Local enthusiasts at North Dakota's only medical school library wanted to obtain NLM funding and build a resource for their rural state. Although short on staff, money, and time, the team found a way to realize a Go Local database that serves the state's residents and helps them "Discover Health Services Near You!" A team approach and collaboration with health providers and organizations worked well in this small rural state. North Dakota's Go Local project offers a low-cost model that stresses collaboration, teamwork and technology. Part I which appeared in the last issue describes the rural setting, explains how the project was conceived, and the processes necessary to begin building the database. Part II which appears in this issue details how records were created including developing the input style guide and indexing decisions, the NLM testing and review process, the maintenance and auditing process, and publicity and promotion of the project.

Discover Health Services Near You! The North Dakota Story: Part I.

Since the 2003 launch of NC Health Info, the National Library of Medicine has encouraged the development of Go Local databases. A team of Go Local enthusiasts at North Dakota's only medical school library wanted to obtain NLM funding and build a resource for their rural state. Although short on staff, money, and time, the team found a way to realize a Go Local database that serves the state's residents and helps them "Discover Health Services Near You!" A team approach and collaboration with health providers and organizations worked well in this small rural state. North Dakota's Go Local project offers a low-cost model that stresses collaboration, teamwork and technology. Part I, which appears in this issue, describes the rural setting, explains how the project was conceived, and the processes necessary to begin building the database. Part II, which will appear in the next issue, details how records were created, including developing the input style guide and indexing decisions, the NLM testing and review process, the maintenance and auditing process, and publicity and promotion of the project.

Mental health status and diabetes among Whites and Native Americans: is race an effect modifier?

Depressive symptoms are common among patients with diabetes and may have a significant impact on self-management and health outcomes. The prevalence of both depression and diabetes varies by race. We examined whether race is also an effect modifier in the association between mental health rated "not good" and diabetes using the national Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data from 2002 to 2005. We found that the prevalence of diabetes among Native American respondents was almost double that among Whites. Respondents with at least two weeks of mental health rated "not good" are significantly higher among diabetic patients than among non-diabetic patients. Native Americans (NAs) with at least two weeks of mental health rated "not good" were more likely to have diabetes. This association is stronger in NAs than in Whites. Future research should focus on a better understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying this plausible association between poor mental health and diabetes.