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Tulsa City-County Library has a good idea in helping to promote health literacy. They are holding a health literacy fair. According to an article in Tulsa World:
Health literacy is the ability to read, understand and act on health information. Literacy skills are a stronger predictor of a person's health than age, income, employment status, educational level, race or ethnicity. The community health fair will provide an opportunity for information gathering, free health screenings, and better advocacy for health literacy. Participating organizations include the Community Health Connection, Hospice of Green Country, Hope Testing Clinic and Life Senior Services. At 1 p.m., the fair will feature a class in Spanish on using the MedlinePlus Web site. The class is open to the first 16 people.
I think this is a great idea. I think many public and academic libraries could benefit from holding a fair like this.
Showing posts with label Health Literacy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Health Literacy. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Health Information Literacy Project at Lake Hospital System
Lake Hospital System in Ohio has been selected as one of only nine hospital libraries across the country to participate in the Medical Library Association's Health Information Literacy Research Project, which is being funded through a $250,000 two-year contract from the National Library of Medicine. Under the project, participants will evaluate hospital-based health care providers' awareness and understanding of health information literacy and its value in support of patient care. Full details can be found at Lake Hospital System Selected as Pilot Site for Health Information Literacy Research Project.
From the site:
"There are many factors that influence health literacy. In addition to a patient's general literacy, you have to consider the individual's amount of experience in the health care system, the complexity of the information being presented and cultural factors that may influence decision making," explained Holly Kimborowicz, Lake Hospital System's health science librarian.
"Add to this the emotions that can be involved, especially with the diagnosis of a serious illness, and it's not surprising that patients and their families are often overwhelmed by all information being communicated to them," she said.
Kimborowicz said studies show that health care professionals can most readily improve patients' health literacy by confirming that patients understand the information communicated and by adopting a more patient- friendly communication style that encourages questions.
From the site:
"There are many factors that influence health literacy. In addition to a patient's general literacy, you have to consider the individual's amount of experience in the health care system, the complexity of the information being presented and cultural factors that may influence decision making," explained Holly Kimborowicz, Lake Hospital System's health science librarian.
"Add to this the emotions that can be involved, especially with the diagnosis of a serious illness, and it's not surprising that patients and their families are often overwhelmed by all information being communicated to them," she said.
Kimborowicz said studies show that health care professionals can most readily improve patients' health literacy by confirming that patients understand the information communicated and by adopting a more patient- friendly communication style that encourages questions.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
New Issue of MLA Forum Up!
A new issue of MLA Forum is up at http://www.mlaforum.org. There are two articles which I think readers of this blog may find interesting:
Library Anxiety and the Distance Learning Graduate Student: A Case Study of Eastern Michigan University by Judy Block, Eastern Michigan University
and
Consumer Health Websites as a Platform for Teaching Evaluation of Internet Content in a Library Instruction Course by Robin M. Sabo, Reference Librarian/Health Sciences Bibliographer, Park Library, Central Michigan University
Also, as of July 1st, I am the new editor of MLA Forum. I encourage submissions and I hope some of my readers would be willing to consider submitting an information literacy or library instruction themed article. Details for authors can be found at http://www.mlaforum.org/manuscript.html.
Library Anxiety and the Distance Learning Graduate Student: A Case Study of Eastern Michigan University by Judy Block, Eastern Michigan University
and
Consumer Health Websites as a Platform for Teaching Evaluation of Internet Content in a Library Instruction Course by Robin M. Sabo, Reference Librarian/Health Sciences Bibliographer, Park Library, Central Michigan University
Also, as of July 1st, I am the new editor of MLA Forum. I encourage submissions and I hope some of my readers would be willing to consider submitting an information literacy or library instruction themed article. Details for authors can be found at http://www.mlaforum.org/manuscript.html.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Free Online Pregnancy Test
I have found another interesting hoax site. This one is called the Free Online Pregnancy Test. Yes, it is an obvious hoax and I sure hope no one would ever fall for it.The site claims, "If you're concerned that you may be pregnant, take our free online pregnancy test from the privacy of your own home. No messy stick tests, no waiting, and best of all, our online pregnancy test results are guaranteed!" The guarantee states, "Please note we only guarantee that you'll get a result, not that the results will be accurate."
How does it work? "Using our exclusive Remote Sensor Technology (RST) software in conjunction with a standard web browser Flash plug-in, over 30 of your key physical health parameters are analysed. The RST software processes the parameters and, after evaluation, displays your pregnancy test results at up to 99.9 percent accuracy."
This site probably would not be useful in teaching information literacy because it is so obviously a hoax but it is fun to play with. Make sure you turn your sound on so you can hear the scan working and the moans and laughter which are emitted when the father of the baby is revealed. You can even get birth certificates.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
CMU OFFICIALS LAUDED FOR HEALTH LITERACY STUDY
Anne Marie Casey is in the news again for her work with information literacy. So is Lana Ivanitskaya. The two are featured in CMU OFFICIALS LAUDED FOR HEALTH LITERACY STUDY.
The article notes that the two are profiled as "Information Literacy Stars" on the Web site for the National Forum on Information Literacy. The forum's Web site is http://www.infolit.org, and the link to their profiles is at http://www.infolit.org/star_8.html.
The article quotes Ivanitskaya, "These people will be at greater risk of making bad health decisions based on noncredible information if they conduct a basic Google search than if they search a scholarly library database. We're talking about potentially harmful information on such subjects as cancer rates, smoking cessation methods and fever management in children. People need advanced skills and knowledge to find high-quality health information on the Internet."
The article that is generating this praise for the two is: Ivanitskaya, L., O’Boyle, I., & Casey, A. M. (2006). Health information literacy and competencies of Information Age students: Results from the interactive online Research Readiness Self-Assessment (RRSA). Journal of Medical Internet Research, 8(2):e6. URL: http://www.jmir.org/2006/2/e6/
The article notes that the two are profiled as "Information Literacy Stars" on the Web site for the National Forum on Information Literacy. The forum's Web site is http://www.infolit.org, and the link to their profiles is at http://www.infolit.org/star_8.html.
The article quotes Ivanitskaya, "These people will be at greater risk of making bad health decisions based on noncredible information if they conduct a basic Google search than if they search a scholarly library database. We're talking about potentially harmful information on such subjects as cancer rates, smoking cessation methods and fever management in children. People need advanced skills and knowledge to find high-quality health information on the Internet."
The article that is generating this praise for the two is: Ivanitskaya, L., O’Boyle, I., & Casey, A. M. (2006). Health information literacy and competencies of Information Age students: Results from the interactive online Research Readiness Self-Assessment (RRSA). Journal of Medical Internet Research, 8(2):e6. URL: http://www.jmir.org/2006/2/e6/
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Health Information Literacy and Competencies of Information Age Students: Results From the Interactive Online Research Readiness Self-Assessment
Health Information Literacy and Competencies of Information Age Students: Results From the Interactive Online Research Readiness Self-Assessment (RRSA). This article is by Lana Ivanitskaya, Irene O’Boyle, and Anne Marie Casey. All three of these individuals works at Central Michigan University and Ann Marie Casey is my boss. The article appeared in the Journal of Medical Internet Research 2006, 8(2).
From the article:
As society moves toward evidence-based medicine [1], health providers, health educators, and health care consumers must acquire not only basic health information literacy skills but also more advanced competencies [2]. These competencies include evaluation of the quality of health information resources, obtaining health information documents on narrow topics by conducting advanced searches, judging the trustworthiness of health information sources, and understanding the advantages and disadvantages of different media. The last point is of special concern because many individuals have come to rely on the Internet as a main source of health information. This research addresses the Healthy People 2010 Objective 11-2, currently worded as “to improve the health literacy of persons with inadequate or marginal literacy skills,” but which may be expanded to the entire US population instead of only to those with marginal or inadequate literacy skills [3]. In addition, it aims at providing needs assessment information that may aid in accomplishing Objective 11-3, which is related to increasing the proportion of health communication activities that include research and evaluation, and Objective 11-4, set to increase the proportion of health-related websites that disclose information that can be used to assess the quality of the sites.
Recent reports suggest that over 55% of Americans with Internet access seek health information online [4]. One of the most common complaints about online health information searches is the amount of time required to process the documents that are found [5], but this observation is likely to be related to the general nature of the searches conducted—few information consumers use advanced search features, precisely specify their keywords, or limit their searches in some other way. While Internet search engines help identify a very large number of health-related documents, their use calls for advanced competencies that not all information consumers may possess. For example, the vast majority of documents found on the Internet have not passed a rigorous peer-review process. The ability to conduct one’s own review is clearly an advanced skill. Arguably, health information consumers will be at a greater risk of making health decisions on the basis of noncredible information if they conduct a Google search as opposed to a search in a scholarly library database. This risk will be particularly high for individuals with poor health information competencies. Research comparing clinical evidence to Internet information reveals numerous examples of erroneous and potentially harmful information on such popular topics as cancer rates, smoking cessation methods, and fever management in children [6-8].
From the article:
As society moves toward evidence-based medicine [1], health providers, health educators, and health care consumers must acquire not only basic health information literacy skills but also more advanced competencies [2]. These competencies include evaluation of the quality of health information resources, obtaining health information documents on narrow topics by conducting advanced searches, judging the trustworthiness of health information sources, and understanding the advantages and disadvantages of different media. The last point is of special concern because many individuals have come to rely on the Internet as a main source of health information. This research addresses the Healthy People 2010 Objective 11-2, currently worded as “to improve the health literacy of persons with inadequate or marginal literacy skills,” but which may be expanded to the entire US population instead of only to those with marginal or inadequate literacy skills [3]. In addition, it aims at providing needs assessment information that may aid in accomplishing Objective 11-3, which is related to increasing the proportion of health communication activities that include research and evaluation, and Objective 11-4, set to increase the proportion of health-related websites that disclose information that can be used to assess the quality of the sites.
Recent reports suggest that over 55% of Americans with Internet access seek health information online [4]. One of the most common complaints about online health information searches is the amount of time required to process the documents that are found [5], but this observation is likely to be related to the general nature of the searches conducted—few information consumers use advanced search features, precisely specify their keywords, or limit their searches in some other way. While Internet search engines help identify a very large number of health-related documents, their use calls for advanced competencies that not all information consumers may possess. For example, the vast majority of documents found on the Internet have not passed a rigorous peer-review process. The ability to conduct one’s own review is clearly an advanced skill. Arguably, health information consumers will be at a greater risk of making health decisions on the basis of noncredible information if they conduct a Google search as opposed to a search in a scholarly library database. This risk will be particularly high for individuals with poor health information competencies. Research comparing clinical evidence to Internet information reveals numerous examples of erroneous and potentially harmful information on such popular topics as cancer rates, smoking cessation methods, and fever management in children [6-8].
Friday, February 24, 2006
Evaluating Internet Health Information: A Tutorial from the National Library of Medicine
Evaluating Internet Health Information: A Tutorial from the National Library of Medicine. This is a neat little tutorial on information literacy as it relates to health information. The tutorial is described, "This tutorial teaches you how to to evaluate the health information that you find on the Web. It is about 16 minutes long."
The content is good but I do not like that it runs automatically and has very little interaction with the user. Some students will find this useful though and it might be a good spot to mine for content for other tutorials.
Special thanks to the Krafty Librarian for helping me to locate this tool.
The content is good but I do not like that it runs automatically and has very little interaction with the user. Some students will find this useful though and it might be a good spot to mine for content for other tutorials.
Special thanks to the Krafty Librarian for helping me to locate this tool.
Saturday, April 10, 2004
Health Literacy beyond Basic Skills This ERIC Digest deals with what might be the most important area of information literacy which is health. What more important area can there be for most people?
From the article:
The relationship between health and literacy is often discussed in terms of the health-related problems that may be associated with low literacy. However, health literacy is an issue that spans education and age levels. This Digest looks beyond adult basic education to address issues of health and literacy for all adults and educational responses to them.
In contemporary society, a constellation of changes has complicated the adult's challenge of being healthy: the health care system's shift from a paternalist to a partnership model, with more individual responsibility for prevention, informed decision making, and consent; complex choices about insurance; the need for self-management of chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure; and responsibility for both children's and elders' health care. Adults at all literacy levels must cope with conflicting media reports about environmental health hazards, diet and nutrition, the safety of hormone replacement therapy, and the appropriate frequency of screening tests; myths and misconceptions about communicable diseases such as smallpox, anthrax, and SARS; pharmaceutical company advertising about new drugs; and the vast amounts of health information available on the Internet.
Health literacy is defined as the capacity to obtain, interpret, understand, and use information to promote and maintain health (Greenberg 2001; Shohet 2002). Health consumers must be able to evaluate information for credibility and quality, analyze relative risks and benefits, calculate dosages, interpret test results, and locate health information, tasks that may require visual, computer, information, and computational literacy (Sullivan 2000). Nutbeam's model (1999) depicts three levels of health literacy that encompass the skills and abilities in these definitions: (1) functional health literacy--basic reading and writing skills to understand and follow simple health messages; (2) interactive health literacy--more advanced literacy, cognitive, and interpersonal skills to manage health in partnership with professionals; and (3) critical health literacy--ability to analyze information critically, increase awareness, and participate in action to address barriers.
From the article:
The relationship between health and literacy is often discussed in terms of the health-related problems that may be associated with low literacy. However, health literacy is an issue that spans education and age levels. This Digest looks beyond adult basic education to address issues of health and literacy for all adults and educational responses to them.
In contemporary society, a constellation of changes has complicated the adult's challenge of being healthy: the health care system's shift from a paternalist to a partnership model, with more individual responsibility for prevention, informed decision making, and consent; complex choices about insurance; the need for self-management of chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure; and responsibility for both children's and elders' health care. Adults at all literacy levels must cope with conflicting media reports about environmental health hazards, diet and nutrition, the safety of hormone replacement therapy, and the appropriate frequency of screening tests; myths and misconceptions about communicable diseases such as smallpox, anthrax, and SARS; pharmaceutical company advertising about new drugs; and the vast amounts of health information available on the Internet.
Health literacy is defined as the capacity to obtain, interpret, understand, and use information to promote and maintain health (Greenberg 2001; Shohet 2002). Health consumers must be able to evaluate information for credibility and quality, analyze relative risks and benefits, calculate dosages, interpret test results, and locate health information, tasks that may require visual, computer, information, and computational literacy (Sullivan 2000). Nutbeam's model (1999) depicts three levels of health literacy that encompass the skills and abilities in these definitions: (1) functional health literacy--basic reading and writing skills to understand and follow simple health messages; (2) interactive health literacy--more advanced literacy, cognitive, and interpersonal skills to manage health in partnership with professionals; and (3) critical health literacy--ability to analyze information critically, increase awareness, and participate in action to address barriers.
Thursday, March 18, 2004
Bad Medicine: Study Finds Problems with Online Healthcare Information Yet another important area to promote Web evaluation skills in. I am not the least surprised that searchers have difficulty finding reliable health information online.
From the article:
Searching for health information on the web? Be careful: A new study says that it's difficult for many people to accurately access and evaluate credible health information.
High quality, reliable health information abounds on the web, from such sources as the Centers for Disease Control and the National Library of Medicine's PubMed. Directories like the U.K.'s OMNI Gateway serve as trusted guides to many other credible sources.
The problem is that many people aren't aware of these resources. And many other, often quite dubious sources of information, are promoted heavily and easily found with search engines, posing a risk for users who accept the information or products offered by these sites without critical judgement.
Full article at http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3319441.
From the article:
Searching for health information on the web? Be careful: A new study says that it's difficult for many people to accurately access and evaluate credible health information.
High quality, reliable health information abounds on the web, from such sources as the Centers for Disease Control and the National Library of Medicine's PubMed. Directories like the U.K.'s OMNI Gateway serve as trusted guides to many other credible sources.
The problem is that many people aren't aware of these resources. And many other, often quite dubious sources of information, are promoted heavily and easily found with search engines, posing a risk for users who accept the information or products offered by these sites without critical judgement.
Full article at http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3319441.
Friday, February 06, 2004
Promoting Health Information Literacy Here is a good full-text article on information literacy for health science students from Academic Exchange Quarterly.
Abstract:
"The recent development of public health informatics as an interdisciplinary field, and the dissemination of this body of knowledge, have brought forth new opportunities for collaboration between the faculty of health sciences and academic library. This paper explores the potential areas for collaboration, describes empirical collaborative projects between these two parties in enhancing the information literacy of public health discipline in a major health science center, and discusses the lessons learned, including the opportunities and challenges associated with the collaboration."
Abstract:
"The recent development of public health informatics as an interdisciplinary field, and the dissemination of this body of knowledge, have brought forth new opportunities for collaboration between the faculty of health sciences and academic library. This paper explores the potential areas for collaboration, describes empirical collaborative projects between these two parties in enhancing the information literacy of public health discipline in a major health science center, and discusses the lessons learned, including the opportunities and challenges associated with the collaboration."
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