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[John La Bella]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  February 13, 1996 

JRI Health launches the HIV Infoweb, a state-of the-art world wide web 
site at 

http://www.jri.org 

The HIV Infoweb is a website providing up-to-date information about HIV 
and AIDS. The Infoweb uses the latest Internet technology to transmit 
information and education, in an easy to use point and click method 
which is accessible to anyone with Internet access.  

Our site is especially aimed at persons with HIV/AIDS, their caregivers, 
and social workers and nurses. The HIV Infoweb integrates an intuitive 
menu, a powerful keyword search facility, discussion groups, and mailing 
lists.  The current centerpieces of the Infoweb are 1) the huge database 
of treatment news articles, 2) the clinical trials database, and 3) an 
easy to use legal Œself-help¹ manual for those who have encountered 
discrimination related to HIV. 

As we created the Infoweb database, we separated treatment newsletters 
into individual articles, so that downloads are content specific and as 
fast as possible.  All articles contain publication dates IN THEIR 
TITLE: the search engine produces a response page with dated articles, 
first paragraphs, and a Œscore¹ indicating their likely degree of 
usefulness (these combined attributes of our system will help to shorten 
your search time). Clicking on any title allows you to download the 
entire article.   Permission has been obtained for all newsletters 
on-line, and we are currently seeking out other agencies for their 
content.

The library contains over 2,500 separate articles; new articles are 
added on a daily basis.

The Clinical Trials database contains AIDS Action Committee of Boston¹s 
extraordinarily useful information-and-analysis sheets of trials 
currently underway in Eastern Massachusetts; analysis of new trials is 
added regularly.  The legal manual, a joint effort of ACTUP Boston¹s 
Discrimination Committee and the City of Boston Commission for Persons 
with Disabilities, shows you how to plan and organize strategies for 
defending your rights while minimizing the demands on your time and 
energy.  The manual , written for Massachusetts citizens, is nonetheless 
nationally applicable in many respects, is written in easy English, and 
contains impressive resource indices.

The Infoweb has been in development for two years.  It represents a 
collaboration of many individuals and agencies, both in Boston and 
across the nation.  Current participants include JRI Health, the Boston 
AIDS Action Committee Resource Library, AIDS Housing, and the Boston 
AIDS Consortium.  Newsletters and information databases are contributed 
by many other agencies and usenet groups.
 
"Our focus has been to take existing high quality information from 
places on and off the Internet, and locate it in a central, 
free-of-charge, user-friendly place.  What would otherwise feel like an 
overwhelming search for information becomes an easy task for the layman 
or woman.  And, anyone who can get to a library, school, or agency with 
a Web connection can access our site." - John Labelia, Infoweb Volunteer 

"The most important goal of developing the Infoweb has been to empower 
users of the Internet, who often may not have quick and ready access to 
the latest information.  Or who wonder if they or their doctor are 
missing crucial information.  Our site is a useful complement to 
traditional forms of care.; only when persons with AIDS have organized 
access to information can they be full participants in decisions about 
their health.² - Ken Duncan, JRI Health Information Systems Director 

"The anonymity of the Internet is really an asset here - people are able 
to browse information at their leisure, receive regular updates, or 
participate in on-line discussions, all with the anonymity offered by 
new Internet technologies. This is a clear example of making technology 
fill a vacuum in much needed information dissemination.² - David 
Leonard, JRI Health Network Administrator and Infoweb Coordinator 

"JRI Health is proud to be a leader in healthcare for persons with 
HIV/AIDS.  The Infoweb combines our reputation in healthcare with the 
development of state-of-the-art information and on-line systems. In the 
future we will be building upon our existing on-line services by working 
with other organizations and agencies, and also we will be finding ways 
of addressing the needs of those who do not own, or have access to, a 
computer or the Internet ³- Michael Cronin, JRI Health Executive 
Director-

For More Information, contact David Leonard, or any of the above, at JRI 
Health: (617) 457-8150




-- 
John La Bella
jlabella at pride.net
73 Hemenway St.  Number 309
Boston, MA 02115-2960
(617) 536-8561 (home)
(617) 859-0298 (fax)