Consumer Health Information and the role of the librarian in the

development of a ‘healthy’ information literate society.

by Nicky Hayward-Wright29th November 2005“Charting the Information Future”Health & OPALS Libraries of NSW Forum

Consumer Health Information

“ …is information on health and medical topics provided in response to requests

from the general public, including patients and their families” 1

Health Information Literacy

“…is the set of abilities needed to recognize a health information need; identify likely

sources and use them to retrieve relevant information; assess the quality of the information and its applicability to a

specific situation; and analyze, understand and use the information to make good

health decisions” 2

A health information literate person can…

Evaluate the quality of the information

Use the information to make informed health decisions

Recognize a health information need

Identify and access likely sources of information

Find and retrieve relevant information

Provision

Collection management Topic

Level

Format

Literacy level

Language, translation

Cultural sensitivity

Context

Provision

Information development Neuro-Patient Resource

Centre, Montreal Neurological Hospital

Multiple Sclerosis Society of New South Wales

Information advocacy Library & Information Service,

Alzheimer’s Australia NSW

http://www.mni.mcgill.ca/neuropatient/resource.html

Access Reasons for going online

medical condition of someone they know a new health problem of their own prescribed a new medication or course of treatment ongoing medical condition unanswered questions after a doctor’s visit changing their diet or exercise habits being a caregiver

8 in 10 Internet users have looked for health information online Topics most searched

particular illness or condition diet, nutrition and vitamins; exercise and fitness; experimental

treatments and drugs

Access

http://www.healthinsite.com.au

http://medlineplus.gov

Website development

Access

Selective reference service

Collection development Alzheimer’s Australia NSW

@ Your Public Library project

Access

Department store franchise

Book prescription service

Birmingham Arthritis Resource Centre

Skills Training

Library staff training Information sources Health reference

Health seeker training Health information literacy Computer literacy

Partnerships

…improve and enhance access to services and information for the health

seeker, which would otherwise be difficult to do on one’s own.

“Health [information] literacy means more than being able to read pamphlets and make appointments. By improving people’s access to health information and their capacity to use it effectively, health [information] literacy is critical to empowerment.” 3

References1. CAPHIS/MLA. (1996). The librarian's role in the provision of

consumer health information and patient education. Medical Library Association. Consumer and Patient Health Information Section. Bulletin of the Medical Libraries Association. 1996, 84(2), pp. 238–239. (online). http://caphis.mlanet.org/resources/caphis_statement.html [accessed 17 October 2005]

2. MLA (2003). Health information literacy. Definitions (online) http://www.mlanet.org/resources/healthlit/define.html [accessed 17 October 2005].

3. World Health Organisation. (1998). Health Promotion Glossary, p.10. (online) http://www.who.int/hpr/NPH/docs/hp_glossary_en.pdf [accessed 18 November 2005].

Useful Resources

Consumer Health. An online manual by National Network of Libraries of Medicine (South Central Region). http://nnlm.gov/scr/conhlth/manualidx.htm

Consumer Health Information: Selected bibliography of readings. January 2005. Prepared by Susan Murray. http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/uni_chi_biblio.jsp

MLANet: Health Information Literacy: Health Literacy Resources http://www.mlanet.org/resources/healthlit/healthlit_resources.html

URLs correct as of 20 November 2005

Presentation by

Nicky Hayward-WrightManagerLibrary & Information ServiceAlzheimer’s Australia NSW