Increasing Access to Quality Health Information for New Americans

1. Increasing Access to Quality Health Information for New Americans Seventh National Conference on Quality Health Care for Culturally Diverse PopulationsOctober 19, 2010 Lisa Massengale, MLIS Judith Weinstein, MA, MPH

2. Who we are Heartland Alliance Refugee Health Programs (Heartland Health Outreach): Training of ethnic health promoters Group education at resettlement agencies  One-on-one education/outreach during home visits Culturally competent, multilingual health education materials  Univ. of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), Library of the Health Sciences (LHSC): Serves the faculty, staff, and students of the University Regional Medical Library for ten Midwestern states under a contract awarded by the National Library of Medicine Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights

3. Project History Overall Goal:  to increase access to quality health information for refugees and immigrant Collaboration between LHSC & Heartland Health Outreach (HHO) is logical choice LHSC is an outreach library HHO brings cultural and linguistic competence Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights

4. Project History Cont. • Year 1 - 2008 • Computers purchased for 7mutual aid associations • Training on website evaluation Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights

5. Project History Cont. • Year 2: 2009: • NAHIP Creation- http://palantir.lib.uic.edu/nahip • Portal to quality health education documents in 21 languages • Increased website evaluation skills of health promoters Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights

7. Current Project • Year 3: 2010: • Partnership with Chicago Public Library: • Rogers Park & Bezazian have a high % of immigrants and refugees • Improve computer and information literacy skills of these consumers • Increase access to quality health information • Libraries become places to seek reliable information Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights

8. Collaboration with CPL • Bezazian Branch: • Serves many immigrants from Southeast Asia, Africa, and central Europe • Working with resettlement agency in ESL • Rogers Park Branch:   • Serves immigrants from Bhutan, Burma and Iraq • Collaborates with resettlement agencies Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights

9. Other Partners:  Mutual Aid Associations • Bosnian-Herzegovinian American Cultural Center (BHACC) • Cambodian Association of Illinois (CAI) • Chinese Mutual Aid Association (CMAA) • Ethiopian Community Association of Chicago (ECAC) • Lao American Community Services (LACS)  • Pan African Association (PAA)  • Vietnamese Association of Illinois (VAI) Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights

10. 1. Consumer access to health information is important to good health care. • Patient care is enhanced when patients are well informed about their conditions.  • Refugees and immigrants should have access [to] quality health information in their native languages. • Roter, D.  “The Enduring and Evolving Nature of the Patient-Physician Relationship.”  Patient Educ Couns 39, no. 1 (January 2000): 5-15.) Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights

11. 2.  Searching the Internet, including searching on medical topics, is second nature to most Americans, but does not always lead to quality health information. • 113 million adults, or 80% of American Internet users, • searched for health information on line. •   Most started with search engine and did not check the date • and source of the information obtained. • Pew Internet & American Life Project Online Health Search 2006.  Available: http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2009/8-The-Social-Life-of-Health-Information.aspx Accessed July 8, 2009. Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights

12. 3. The value of training for public library staff in searching and evaluating health information on the Internet is a fruitful endeavor. • Rural New York State public library • Training public library staff is highly effective way to ensure • consumer access to quality health information. • Flaherty, MG and L. Roberts.  “Rural Outreach Training Efforts to Clinicians and Public Library Staff:  NLM Resource Promotion.”  Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet, 13:14-30, 2009. Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights

13. Goal 1  • Transfer computer skills and Internet access capabilities via trusted conduit of the community health promoter • Expand access to quality health information.  Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights

14. Goal 2      • Develop partnerships • HHO • Chicago Public Library (CPL) • Rogers Park • Bezazian Branches • University of Illinois at Chicago, Library of Health Sciences. Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights

15. Goal 3      • Promote Bezazian and Rogers Park Branches as information hubs and community centers • Provide the ability to seek health and medical information on their own or with guidance from librarians.  Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights

16. Project Activities    Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights

17. Project Activities (cont) Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights

18. Project Activities (cont) Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights

19. Results     • Home Visits (9) • 43 Clients • 2 Punch Card • Health Information Day: October 4, 2010 • 25 Clients • Refugee One ESL Class Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights

20. Questions?   Lisa Massengale lmassen1@uic.edu Judith Weinstein jweinstein@heartlandalliance.org Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights