Beyond an Apple a Day: Providing Consumer Health Information at Your Library

1. Beyond an Apple a Day: Providing Consumer Health Information at Your Library National Network of Libraries of Medicine http://nnlm.gov (800) 338-7657

2. Agenda • History & evolution of consumer health • Health information needs of patrons • Challenges of providing CH services • Collection development • Consumer health on the internet • The reference interview • Ethics • Outreach • Marketing

3. Consumer Health – then and now… • 1972 Patient Bill of Rights Realities of Health Care today: • Patients are now asked to make decisions about their own disease process. • Most patients do not have the tools to make these kinds of decisions • Libraries can help!

4. evolution of e-patients • In 2000, 52 million Americans searched the internet for health • In 2002, 73 million… • Pew Internet Study – Online Health Search 2006 – 113 million or 80% of American Internet users • In 2006, “Googling for a diagnosis” [BMJ] • In 2006, only one quarter of online health seekers said they always or usually check the source and date of health information online!

5. Health Literacy • The ability to read, understand and act on health information [Pfizer 2002] • The degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions [Healthy People 2010]

6. What is the strongest predictor of an individual’s health status? • Age • Income • Employment status • Educations • Literacy skills • Racial/ethnic group

7. Fill in the blanks • One out of ? American adults reads at the 5th grade level or below, and the average. one out of 5 • American reads at the 8th to 9th grade level, yet most health care materials are written above the ? grade level. 10th grade

8. Discussion Thoughts on health literacy and how it impacts the individual and society?

9. Why is health literacy so critical? • Essential life skill • Public health imperative • Essential part of social capital • Critical economic issue Source: “Navigating Health: The Role of Health Literacy”, Kickbusch

10. Resources for health literacy • MedlinePlus – Easy to read • easy to read resources and a how to write easy to read page • Ask Me 3, Partnership for Clear Health Communication • 1. What is my main problem? • 2. What do I need to do? • 3. Why is it important for me to do this?

11. Sharing • Take 10 minutes to discuss with a partner or a group, some examples of consumer health questions. • We wrap up this activity with a discussion of your examples together as a class.

12. Challenges of the reference interview in the context of health information • Not being familiar with the resources • Medical terminology • Knowing how much to ask • Using open ended questions • Being aware of body language • Not offering personal experiences • Others?

13. The Reference Interview …in the context of health information • Be empathetic • Be an active listener • Use open ended questions • Respect privacy / confidentiality • Be prepared for emotions • Be aware of body language • Do not be afraid to refer the patron back to his/her health care provider

14. Disclaimers + caution statements • “Materials in the Resource Center represent the opinions of the authors and are intended as a complement, not a substitute for the advice of your healthcare providers.”

15. Ethical Guidelines • Privacy / Confidentiality • Know the limits of your collection • Do not interpret medical information • Use a disclaimer or caution statement

16. Planning the service • Needs assessment • DRG example • Potential DRG resource • Leapfrog • Health grades • Analyze the demographics of your community • CDC Faststats • Kaiser State Health Facts • Public Library Geographic Database

17. Considerations of starting a CH Service at your Library?

18. Collection Development • Book lists on CAPHIS • UCONN Healthnet • Bibel, B. Library Journal

19. Consumer Health on the Internet • The ABC’s of evaluation • Accuracy • Authority • Bias • Currency • Coverage • And, user friendliness

20. http://medlineplus.gov

21. http://nihseniorhealth.gov

22. NIHSeniorHealth.gov http://nihseniorhealth.gov/toolkit/toolkit.html

23. http://clinicaltrials.gov

24. http://nccam.nih.gov http://nccam.nih.gov

25. http://nlm.nih.gov

26. http://dirline.nlm.nih.gov

27. http://healthhotlines.nlm.nih.gov

28. http://cancer.gov

29. http://druginfo.nlm.nih.gov/drugportal/drugportal.jsp

30. http://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov

31. http://dietarysupplements.nlm.nih.gov/dietary/

32. http://drugdigest.org

33. http://www.patientinform.org/

34. Questions thus far?

35. Hands on Exercises 1) What is cholelithiasis? 2) Find a video for caregiver support of Alzheimer’s Disease. 3) My husband burned his hand on our outdoor grill. He said that he thought he should put butter on it. What is the best thing to do for a minor burn? 4) What is Pyelonephritis and how is it treated? 5) My daughter is attending college in Chicago. She is having headaches and a stuffy nose. Our primary care doctor said she probably is allergic to something. Can you help us find a good allergist in Chicago?

36. Hands on Exercises (cont.) 6) I heard that black cohosh is good for menopausal symptoms. Is it safe to take? Is there any evidence that it is effective for menopause? 7) What is the ideal blood pressure?  8) My friend needs to find a nursing home for her father within 10 miles of Burlington, VT.  9) Are there any current clinical trials for complementary and alternative treatment of fibromyalgia? 10) I read an article in Consumer Reports on Health that said excessive calcium intake from calcium enriched foods (like Calcium enriched OJ) could cause kidney stones. How much calcium is too much?

37. break

38. Collaboration +Health information outreach

39. http://nnlm.gov

40. NN/LM funded projects

41. Potential Collaborators Source: City of Somerville

42. http://caphis.mlanet.org/

43. http://nnlm.gov/evaluation

44. http://ehrweb.aaas.org/PDF/ChallengePubLibraries.pdf

45. 10 top reasons to market your library? • Competition for customers • Competition for resources • Maintain your relevance • Stop being taken for granted • Promote an updated image • Visibility • Valuable community resource • Rising expectations • Survival • Beneficial to library image Source: University of Illinois Current LIS Clips (2003)

46. Marketing • Sharing: Get together in groups of 2 or 3 and come up with a couple of good marketing ideas to share. • We will discuss them as a group.

47. Other ideas: • Bookmarks, websites, press releases, lecture series, videos in hospital waiting room, screening clinics, health fairs, Information Rx, newsletter, public speaking to community groups, pedometer program, consumer health database searching series.

48. InformationRx.org

49. The Elevator Speech In 15 seconds or less: • Who we are? • What we do? • Why does it matter? • Once again, thank you. InfoPeople, Building Leadership Skills: Community Engagement, 2007

50. QUESTIONS?