My main interest in the electronic workspace is in the impact it will have on health care consumers and what the impact that access to information and being informed will have on social relations in the health care system. Sam Lafranco recently spoke using the electronic workspace to increase TRANSPARENCY, and ACCOUNTABILITY and to PROMOTE COLLABORATION in regards to the process of funding proposals. >We are committed to using this virtual workspace as a vehicle >for increased transparancy and accountability for funding and to increase >the chances of collaboration. The same could be done within health promotion >funding. Those 3 words encapsulated for me the major potential of the electronic workspace for health care consumers in having more power and control in the health care system. The TRANSPARENCY comes in being able to get hold of lots of information, as much and sometimes more than your health care professional. As the barriers to obtaining medical knowledge decrease and knowledge dessiminates throughout the system from professional to consumer, there will be a need for.... what? ACCOUNTABILITY comes with this as people become more knowledgeable and have others to discuss things with it creates an information seeking environment. This puts more onus on the health care professional and system to be responsive and accountabile for what they are doing. Most importantly it creates the opportunity for COLLABORATION. A health care consumer can assist the health care professional to become knowledgeable and can take part in decisions and in their health care process. "Participation is the issue. It is very central to concepts, theories, and methods of health promotion. If people are going to take greater control they need to participate." (Lawrence Green) An example of this is illustrated well at the Apergers Resources Home Page at http://www.udel.edu/bkirby/asperger/. This page is designed by someone who is the parent of a child with Aspergers. When she was told by the specialist that her child had Aspergers she was patted on the back and told to keep up the good work. She was given no other information. Imagine being told that this is what your child had. Real World: Getting an overview from the Dr. and maybe an article, and then maybe you go to the library. Then you're alone, you know noone else who has a child with this. Compare this with what this electronic workspace offers. You can immediately access research articles, become a part of a research study, educational implications- ideas for classroom management, social implications and strategies, universities, medical centres and clinicians who evaluate individuals with AS,conferences and workshops,look at personal experiences, artwork or poetry of those that have this problem, get a recommended reading list, find support and find linkds to other disability pages with information on Aspergers. How rich and varied it seems in comparison, how HOLISTIC and how empowering for that parent and that child as they interact with not only the health care system but their world! To me this is health promotion plus! From all my excitement you might be able to tell that I am fairly new to all this. I've only been exploring this electronic workspace for the past 2 months. Previous to that my interest in consumer health information has led me to visit or talk with various CHIS services, Planetree (San Fransisco and Stanford), St Joseph's Community Health Centre in Hamilton, Metro Toronto Library and The Health Connection in Calgary. Although I am not employed by any agency I have been exploring what might be suitable for my community (Victoria, BC) which brings me to WORKPLACE. What sort of site would be most appropriate to actively encourage consumers and health care professionals to use the electronic work space? From previous postings it seems that their is resistance as this is set up in existing health related sites. What do you think about the idea of a seperate health information resource centre whose sole purpose was to assist consumers and health care professionals to get information and to develop the needed skills to use the electronic space? Would it make this issue more visible? or would it create more resistance? PS I don't like the word health care "consumer". I read somewhere that consumer comes from consumption, meaning to devour. Does it bother anyone else? I saw a program on CBC where some "consumers" (of which we are all one as well) said they did not like it either. Has anyone got any ideas for another term? Judi Quail <[log in to unmask]>