1 / 39

Public Libraries: The Consumer Health Information Connection for Utah!

Public Libraries: The Consumer Health Information Connection for Utah! Helping Your Patrons, Patients & Providers Access “Healthy” Information. Health Clinics & Public Libraries: Building Healthy Partnerships for Utah. A Statewide Project Initiated by:

samuelramos
Download Presentation

Public Libraries: The Consumer Health Information Connection for Utah!

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Public Libraries: The Consumer Health Information Connection for Utah! Helping Your Patrons, Patients & Providers Access “Healthy” Information

  2. Health Clinics & Public Libraries: Building Healthy Partnerships for Utah A Statewide Project Initiated by: Utah Women’s Health Information Network (UWIN) Clinic/Public Library Partnership Initiative Community Health Centers + local public libraries = Better health information in the community

  3. Women are the health information gatekeepers for their families Shared Goals: Improve access to reliable health information for patients & providers-same goal for clinics and public libraries! Improve health care for Utah women & thus all Utah residents & their families To begin-HHS/Office on Women's Health/ Univ. of Utah, Health Sciences Center/-Grant to develop Clinic/Public Library partnerships to disseminate health information statewide…

  4. HOW DO WE MAKE LIBRARIES PART OF THE HEALTH CARE TEAM? • Community library approaches neighborhood clinic or health care facility to develop partnership • Librarian explains health resources @ library and willingness to partner for referral of patients seeking health/patient education • Librarian is trained in reliable health information • Clinic is provided with Information Rx tailored in order to refer patients to library for more health information

  5. Materials & Training In Development English & Spanish For Librarians-Toolkits Training & Materials-paper/online-How to help patrons with consumer health questions Posters & bookmarks in library-”Good Health Information @ Your Library For Clinics- Information Rx Posters & bookmarks for clinics with maps & directions to neighborhood library-”Good Health Information @ Your Library” Reach out & Read label on give away books-”Like this book”-there are lots more @ your neighborhood library For the Public-Public Relations Campaign Media coverage statewide (TV spot available online), bookmarks Libraries can contact local media with materials provided (press releases, etc)

  6. Your Information Rx Fill @ Your Local Public Library

  7. Finding Medical Information for Public Library Patrons: “I trust my doctor, but I’m seeing my medical librarian for a second opinion.” Quote posted at entrance of Plane Tree Public Library, San Jose, CA

  8. Why is it important for the public library to provide medical information? • People are being asked to make decisions about their healthcare • People may be afraid or forget to ask their doctor • Access to hospital libraries may be limited • “Googling” is a popular way to find health information and librarians are needed to help filter the amount and quality of information found on the Internet

  9. Opportunity for All: How the American Public Benefits from Internet Access at U.S. Libraries • 1/3 of Americans (roughly 77 million people) age 14 or older used a public library computer or wireless network to access the internet in the passed year • 37% focused on health issues (48 million) • 82% of these logged on to learn about a disease, illness, or medical condition • 1/3 of these sought out doctors or health care providers • Of these, about half followed up by making appointments for care March 2010

  10. Challenges in finding medical information • Medical terminology • Knowing how much information to ask • Not being familiar with the resources • Knowing the “health literacy” level of the person asking

  11. Health Literacy: Is the ability to read, understand, and act on health care information. Source: Center for Healthcare Strategies

  12. Food Labels: Is this safe for someone on a salt-free diet? Note: We rarely say “Pass the sodium”

  13. Charts: Are they simple and usable?

  14. Consent: Is this the way we talk? “I have discussed the likelihood of major risks or complications of this procedure (if applicable) but not limited to infection…”

  15. Who has Health Literacy Problems? • People of all backgrounds, especially those with chronic health problems • Most adults in U.S. read at 6th grade level, 45% below 6th grade level • 46% of Americans cannot read a Rx label (Annals of Internal Medicine 2006) • Older people, immigrants and those with low incomes are disproportionately more likely to have trouble reading and understanding health-related information

  16. Win/Win: • Providing healthcare information benefits the patron because they get the information they need to improve health outcomes • The Library wins by gaining a new customer who will come back for other services and programs

  17. FrequentlyAsked Questions • Information about diseases or conditions • Latest treatment for… • Descriptions of particular procedures • Drug information • Herbal information • The best doctor or hospital

  18. The Patron’s Path To You

  19. What Do Patrons Mean???? What the patron said: What the patron meant: • Sick lick vomiting Cyclic vomiting • Rose acre Rosacea • Lack toast intolerant Lactose intolerance • Showgrin’s syndrome Sjogren’s syndrome

  20. TheReference 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 or her health care provider

  21. Reference Interview “DO’s”: • Do provide a safe, private place for your reference interviews • Do use terms like “You must be worried,” or “This must be difficult” • Do provide a range of materials • Do explain why a resource is best suited to answer their question • Do know the limits of your collection

  22. Reference Interview “Don’ts: • Do not judge, give an opinion, or tell the person “it’s probably nothing” • Do not speak from personal experience or knowledge • Do not pretend to have medical knowledge or guess at a condition • Do not give medical advice

  23. Resources to help clarify patron questions: • Dictionaries Mosby’s Medical, Nursing & Allied Health Dictionary American Heritage Stedman’s Medical Dictionary Taber’s Cyclopedic Dictionary • General Medical Texts Merck Manual of Medical Information Mayo Clinic Family Health Book American Medical Association Family Medical Guide • Drug Resources Physician’s Desk Reference (PDR) Consumer Drug Reference (Consumer Reports)

  24. Online Resources • Library Databases provided by Pioneer: EbscoHost -- AltHealthWatch HealthSource--Consumer Ed. HealthSource--Nursing/Acad Ed. Medline (PubMed) *Your library may subscribe to additional resources • Health Databases • Internet Resources • Google or other search engine

  25. Info Prescription???

  26. Guide to Healthy Web Surfing • What should you look for: • Consider the source—know who is responsible for the content. • Focus on quality—is the information reviewed before it is posted? • Be a cyberskeptic—get a second opinion, check more than one • site. • Look for the evidence—rely on medical research, not opinion. • Check for currency—check dates on documents. • Beware of bias. • Protect your privacy—is your information kept confidential? • Consult with your health professional

  27. Useful Web Sites to provide Good Health Information @ Your Library: • MedlinePlus http://medlineplus.gov/ • UtaHealthNet http://utahealthnet.utah.edu • NIH Senior Health http://nihseniorhealth.gov/ • Familydoctor.org http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home.html • KidsHealth http://kidshealth.org/ • National Cancer Institute http://www.cancer.gov/

  28. More…Useful Resources to support Good Health Information @ Your Library: • CAPHIS, Consumer and Patient Health Information Section (Medical Library Association) • http://caphis.mlanet.org/ • Ask-A-Medical Librarian-Spencer S. Eccles Health • Sciences Library, University of Utah • http://library.med.utah.edu/or/asklibrarian.php

  29. Non-English Language Resources • MedlinePlus en Espanol • Healthfinder Espanol • CDC en Espanol • Familydoctor.org en Espanol • Consumer Health Information in Many Languages • http://ethnomed.org/

  30. 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? • Health Information Literacy (Medspeak) Resources from the Medical Library Association

  31. Want to learn more? Visit: • Good Health Information @ Your Library Tutorials • Information for Librarians and Trainers(tutorials) • Resources for Health Consumers from the Medical Library Association • Consumer and Patient Health Information SectionMedical Library Association • Health Literacy Information & Tutorials

  32. Now you’re part of the health care team… Others on your team: Susan Hamada, Salt Lake County Library System shamada@slcolibrary.org 801-944-7513 Sally Patrick, Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library, Univ of Utah sally.patrick@utah.edu 801-581-6979 Kathy Pudlock, Weber County Libr@ry kpudlock@weberpl.lib.ut.us 801-337-2690

More Related