National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) Clearinghouse, National Institutes of Health (NIH)

The Clearinghouse (formerly the Office of Alternative Medicine Clearinghouse) was established in 1996 to disseminate information promoting public awareness and education about complementary and alternative medicine and related research. Cygnus assumed the management of this contract in early 1998. The Clearinghouse is located at our contract facility in Silver Spring, Maryland.

The Clearinghouse's information specialists respond to more than 1,800 toll-free telephone, written, fax, and e-mail requests for information per month. Staff provide these requesters with consistent, timely, and appropriate responses, including publications on treatments, NCCAM-sponsored research, and referral to NCCAM-approved information sources.

Cygnus provides an array of publication development services under this contract. Staff write factsheets and create information packages on a variety of complementary and alternative medicine (such as nontraditional cancer therapies and acupuncture) topics, NCCAM research centers and individual research grants, and the NCCAM postdoctoral program. Staff also write copy for Complementary & Alternative Medicine at the NIH, and edit, proofread, desktop publish, and oversee the printing of this newsletter. Our graphics staff develop the layout for and format Clearinghouse publications and developed NCCAM's unique logo. In addition, staff prepare Complementary & Alternative Medicine News Clips, a monthly compilation of articles from the popular press that is distributed to NCCAM staff and members of advisory panels.

Project staff also provide a number of database services. For example, they developed and now maintain a database of alternative medicine information that is fully compatible with the Combined Health Information Database (CHID). This database tracks books, factsheets, journal and magazine articles, brochures, and information packages on various methods of complementary and alternative treatments and related research.

Media Campaign Resource Center for Tobacco Control, Office on Smoking and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

The Media Campaign Resource Center for Tobacco Control was established by Cygnus in 1995 as part of a contract with the Office on Smoking and Health. This clearinghouse is dedicated to assisting States and other nonprofit health organizations to develop media campaigns to discourage tobacco use. The Resource Center has licensed existing advertisements developed by the California Department of Health Services, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Arizona Department of Health Services, Tobacco-Free Florida Coalition, Oral Health America, and others, and makes these television, radio, print, and outdoor advertisements available to other organizations.

In addition to providing access to media campaign materials, the Resource Center staff provide guidance and technical assistance in use of the materials. The Resource Center staff also assist organizations in choosing the best ads for a specific target audience, localizing and tagging advertising materials, developing a media plan, negotiating with ad representatives and media outlets, and marketing and publicizing campaigns. The Resource Center has worked with all 50 States in setting up tobacco control advertising campaigns.

Cygnus also developed and distributes two volumes of the Media Campaign Resource Book for Tobacco Control, which describe the assistance that CDC and Cygnus can provide and all of the materials that are available from the Resource Center. To keep tobacco control advocates apprised of new materials and advertising opportunities, staff develop and coordinate the mailing of flyers and direct mail pieces to the Resource Center mailing list.

Drug-Free Workplace Helpline, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention

Since 1991, Cygnus has operated the toll-free Helpline and provides free information and confidential technical assistance to business, industry, unions, and community organizations on how to develop and implement a comprehensive drug-free workplace program. Helpline staff provide individualized telephone consultation, which may include resource referral, networking services, and publications, to assist callers in program planning and implementation and policy development.

Information specialists respond to more than 1,000 telephone calls per month that are usually from managers, directors, and owners of companies with 500 or fewer employees. Staff have been trained to provide information on many topics, such as identifying the signs and symptoms of drug abuse and implementing employee education and supervisor training, and find that most callers are interested in learning about the legal and technical aspects of drug testing, employee assistance programs (EAPs), policy development, and overall workplace drug abuse. In addition, Helpline staff refer callers to other resources for additional information or services, such as a national EAP association, other government agencies, associations of medical review officers, legal resources by State, other hotlines, and government-certified laboratories that test urine. Members of the Helpline staff are also qualified to train supervisors in establishing a new or improving an ongoing drug-free workplace program and to talk to employees about the benefits of an EAP.

To keep abreast of current trends in the field, Helpline staff invite experts in selected areas to come to Cygnus and talk about activity in their respective areas. Staff also attend seminars that focus on the issues surrounding the use of alcohol and other drugs in the workplace, including job performance and employee health. In addition, they review sources of information to identify new materials that could be added to the Helpline's inventory of resources, which contains publications that are sent to callers as a follow-up to the telephone consultation.

Cygnus developed a database that logs all calls made to the Helpline and tracks specific information about the callers, such as location of caller by State and country, primary question, size of organization by number of employees, and type of industry according to standard industry code, and any referrals that the staff member gave to the caller. Staff use this program to generate statistics and analyses that are used for all reports of Helpline activity.

To promote the Helpline, staff attend and exhibit at conferences sponsored by trade and professional associations, such as meetings sponsored by the American Management Association, and at facilities of private industries to talk about the issues related to establishing and maintaining a drug-free workplace.

Alzheimer's Disease Education and Referral (ADEAR) Center, National Institute on Aging (NIA)

Cygnus supported the ADEAR Center in its mission to provide accurate and timely information on Alzheimer's disease, its consequences and potential treatments, new research, and services available to physicians and other health professionals, patients and their families, and the public. We also participated in developing an online database of client-approved, standardized responses and designed an in-house training program that included education about the disease, referral sources, database searching, handling of various types of situations and callers, and operating policies and procedures.

Information specialists responded to an average of 5,000 inquiries per month through a toll-free telephone service, mail, e-mail, fax, and the Internet. Staff also responded to national television and radio public service announcement campaigns, resulting in the distribution of 360,000 to 500,000 publications annually. Information specialists answered inquiries that required customized responses or searches, and clerks fulfilled routine requests for publications.

To disseminate useful and current information, Cygnus developed and updated factsheets, reports, catalogs, reading lists, packaged Combined Health Information Database (CHID) searches, and reading lists for the Center. Staff also designed, wrote, and produced the quarterly newsletter, Connections, which contains timely articles about Alzheimer's disease research, descriptions of new resource materials, and a calendar of events. In addition, staff managed a website that features NIA's press releases on recent research, online ADEAR Center publications about Alzheimer's disease, an interactive order form, and a calendar of events. Staff added online documents regularly and continually updated functions of the site.

Cygnus maintained five databases for the Center, including the Alzheimer's disease (AZ) subfile of CHID and the internal inquiry tracking system, which was used by information specialists to enter requests, track distribution, and maintain inventory records and user statistics. Other database activities included maintaining an up-to-date online referral database, identifying and reviewing materials to update the AZ subfile of CHID, and managing a segmented mailing list of approximately 20,000 addresses coded to 80 subsets.

Cygnus worked actively to develop collaborative relationships with other Federal, State, and local government agencies; voluntary groups; professional associations; and foundations. These relationships enabled the Center to exchange resources, develop joint projects, disseminate bulk quantities of key publications, and share information. Staff maintained mailing lists of agencies, organizations, and professionals that were used to target promotions and broad distribution of new publications. To promote the Center and its toll-free information line, staff developed a cost-recovery program and produced a catalog to market and distribute materials at cost, including audiovisual training materials produced by NIA grantees.

National Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NAMSIC), National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)

The Clearinghouse offers patients and their families, health professionals, and the public information and publications on more than 600 rheumatic, musculoskeletal, and skin diseases, as well as the results of research conducted by NIAMS and other Institutes within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on the causes, treatments, and prevention of these diseases. For this contract, Cygnus provided an array of information services, including inquiry response; online databases and Internet resources searching; health education materials development and pretesting; graphics support and printing; exhibit support; and inventory monitoring. Our staff also designed and conducted research for NIAMS to collect data on the information needs of current and potential Clearinghouse users. Using the study results, our project management staff developed strategic plans for implementing new NAMSIC information services, including interactive health communication and services for special-needs audiences.

Each month, NAMSIC information specialists responded to over 1,000 telephone and written inquiries from diverse audiences, including patients and their families, physicians, allied health professionals, librarians, and the general public. To respond to standard inquiries, information specialists used NAMSIC publications and an indexed file of form letters with client-approved, vertical-file materials, such as recent journal articles and textbook excerpts. In addition, the staff referred some callers to other parts of NIH, to clinical trials, and to some 300 disease-specific, community-based service and advocacy organizations that serve patients and families. To prepare custom responses, the information specialists used NAMSIC and NIAMS publications; searched CHID, MEDLINE, CRISP, and other online databases; and used Internet resources, including the NIAMS website, along with the extensive vertical files and the resource organization list that staff updated regularly. Staff disseminated 60,000 NAMSIC publications annually from the Cygnus distribution center.

Cygnus staff identified new print and electronic resources and reviewed more than 2,800 incoming materials annually that were considered for acquisition and entry into the Clearinghouse's Arthritis (AR) subfile of the Combined Health Information Database (CHID). Staff used an internal inquiry tracking system to code and track publication dissemination, user statistics, and inventory status; the system tracked 1,200 inquiries and responses per month, as well as the inventory of more than 200 titles.

In addition to conceptualizing and planning health education initiatives, Cygnus provided writing, editing, copyediting, proofreading, graphic design, and desktop publishing services for diverse materials that included journal and magazine articles, informational factsheets and packages, brochures, exhibits, and public awareness flyers. For example, staff researched, wrote, selectively pretested, and updated factsheets, information packages, and other materials for health professionals and the public. These included single-disease topics in the "Question & Answer" series of factsheets and a new in-depth series of booklets titled "Handout on Health." Because turnaround time from request to dissemination for new factsheets varied depending on NIAMS' requirements, staff worked closely with the Office of Scientific and Health Communications throughout the publication process. Our staff also wrote, designed, and desktop published a comprehensive, 132-page guidebook, Lupus: A Patient Care Guide for Nurses and Other Health Professionals.

Project staff disseminated documents electronically on the NIAMS website and through NIAMS Fast Facts, a "faxback" service that Cygnus implemented and supported and that offers 24-hour document retrieval through the telephone on a fax machine.

Cygnus assisted in the design, data collection, and analysis of research with current and prospective users of NAMSIC information products and helped the client determine user satisfaction with Clearinghouse services. Staff also pretested the content, degree of complexity, and appropriateness of information in draft print materials for patients and health professionals and coordinated the process of expert review of all print materials.

Cygnus information specialists initiated and maintained contact with organizations and information resources relevant to NAMSIC's scope, including exchanging materials, information, and referrals. Staff maintained a referral list of more than 300 voluntary and professional organizations and government agencies. Cygnus also promoted the Clearinghouse, with the NAMSIC exhibit booth, at four national medical, nursing, or public health meetings a year.