Overcoming Language Barriers When Providing Health Information

Abstract

There is need for multilingual health information in different formats. New technologies offer solutions to providing consumer health information despite problematic issues. Libraries can play a key role in making multilingual materials available to their constituent populations and the world.     

Consumer Health Education Center: An Overview of Library Services

This paper provides a brief review of the development and history of the Community Health Education Center (CHEC), a library for patients and their family members over its past 14 years. Over time, CHEC management recognized new patient needs and evolved to meet the needs of its users through a variety of value-added services. This article discusses current services that CHEC offers including reference, business services, and health and wellness programs. Libraries planning to provide consumer health information services to patients and their family members can learn valuable lessons from the history, development, challenges, and services of CHEC.     

Reading Difficulty Level of Medical Resources on Television Web Sites

ABSTRACT

Mass media plays a critical role in communicating health messages to the public. Local television stations are posting more health content on the Web; however, the difficulty level of this information has not been evaluated. Study objectives were to assess the content of health stories on local television Web sites, and to evaluate the reading level of these health messages. The top three health articles from 79 local television news Web pages were selected for analysis. Readability was assessed using SMOG, Flesch-Kincaid (FK), and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE). A total of 278 articles were located over a two-day search. The majority of stories were national (47.0%) and educational (48.0%) pieces. Fewer articles were breaking news (19.8%). More articles focused on both prevention and treatment (30.6%) rather than on prevention (21.6%) or treatment (21.2%) alone. Mean readability was at a senior high school level according to SMOG (Grade 11.9) and FK (Grade 10.3). Overall FRE was 51.6, implying a “fairly difficult” reading style. As broadcast news media mobilizes viewers toward online health content, they must consider the difficulty of the information and literacy abilities of their audience.     

Evaluating Patient Education Materials for Grade Level

Patients are often given patient education documents to take home with them when they leave the hospital. It is important that these documents be at an appropriate grade level since some patients have low health literacy and may be unable to read the materials given to them. Evaluators can use readability tools to assess their patient education materials and make sure they are at a sixth- to eighth-grade reading level. The hospital librarian can play a large role in identifying the grade level of patient education materials.     

Promoting and Advancing Health Literacy at NYU Langone Health

NYU Langone Health is one of the nation’s preeminent academic medical centers. Their mission is to serve, teach, and discover. This is achieved through an integrated academic culture devoted to excellence in patient care, education, and research. NYU Langone promotes and advances health literacy through Patient and Family Education Services of the Patient Experience Department. Since the institution provides health care services to dozens of neighborhoods in New York City and beyond, health literacy, as well as cultural sensitivity, are top priorities.     

Healthy Web Sites

Abstract

Consumers are increasingly looking to the Internet to find answers to their medical questions. In an effort to help consumers find the most reliable information, Healthnet: Connecticut Consumer Health Information Network, at the University of Connecticut Health Center Library, launched a program called “Healthy Web Sites.” The program has three main content areas: (1) evaluating Web sites for quality and reliability; (2) how to find current research information on a disease or disorder; and (3) locating information on the credentials of physicians and other health care providers.     

The Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization Web Site

Abstract

With a grant from the National Action Plan on Breast Cancer, Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization developed a comprehensive World-Wide Web site to supplement its peer support activities. Prior to the development of this Web site, Y-ME had no Internet presence. This paper describes the site's development and how Y-ME clients have used it.     

Brigham and Women's Hospital's Consumer Health Database Searching Seminar Series

ABSTRACT

Brigham and Women's Hospital Kessler Health Education Library launched a Consumer Health Database Searching Seminar (CHDSS) series to instruct patients, family members, and care providers who disseminate consumer health information to patients and families on the methods and techniques of structured database searching utilizing the library's online resources. Each seminar focuses on a specific national health observance and targets an individual database. The CHDSS series has been an effective approach in teaching users how to search for consumer health information.     

论医院健康教育语言的重要性

现代生理心理学、临床心理学等科学的研究成果表明，健康教育语言是健康教育人员与患者沟通和交流的信息载体，也是医院健康教育最直接的工具和手段。医院健康教育指导用语具有相当强的专业性、临床适用性和可操作性等特征。它必须承担起对患者治疗康复的指导作用，处处体现出健康教育在促进患者痊愈上的辅助意义。因而医院健康教育的过程不仅是信息互动过程，也是心理互动过程。     

Free Library of Health: Consumer Health Information,Health Literacy,and Library Programming in Philadelphia

In 2016, the Free Library of Philadelphia reopened the newly renovated South Philadelphia Library. This full-service neighborhood library is co-located with pediatric primary care services, a city-run health center, and a recreation center in a first-of-its-kind facility called the Community Health and Literacy Center. The South Philadelphia Library aims to improve health literacy in the community through the provision of consumer health information and health programming, and the co-location with health care and recreation services provides unique opportunities to partner and offer health-based library services. A community health librarian certified in consumer health information assists customers with accessing reliable health information, and health programming covers many areas of interest. Partnerships with nearby health organizations also allow the library to connect customers with vetted neighborhood services. By combining health services with traditional library programming, customers are able to increase their health literacy when they visit the library.     

Good Googling: A Consumer Health Literacy Program Empowering Parents to Find Quality Health Information Online

Only 12% of Americans possess adequate health literacy skills. Among the populations cited with the lowest health literacy are those who experience chronic health conditions. A pilot health information literacy program was designed for parents of children with complex medical needs to help improve low health literacy in this population. The program targeted finding and determining trustworthy information online and was evaluated using a pre-post survey design. After the program parents’ confidence improved significantly in finding, interpreting, and judging quality online health information. These skills play an important role in promoting family-centered care and decreasing the burden on health care consumers.     

Online Support Groups: The Good,the Bad,and the Motivated

Online support groups exist for a multitude of health conditions. Group participants tend to have unmet needs for emotional or psychological support, socialization, information, or validation. There are advantages to online support communities that cannot be found in face-to-face groups, but there are numerous disadvantages as well. This article reviews the motivations for participating in an online support group, lists the pros and cons of online communities, and offers a glimpse into experiences of a few group participants.     

Use of Social Media for Consumer Health Outreach in a Solo Hospital Library

Using social media in hospital libraries is an excellent tool for reaching and engaging existing or potential users. However, small or solo hospital librarians do not always have enough staff or time to incorporate these resources into their menu of services. Hospital librarians should consider the potential benefits of using the library as a trusted social media resource for the community and can customize outreach without sacrificing staff time, straining the budget, or battling the firewall. Having the hospital library offer health information to the community through social media has many potential benefits for improving health knowledge and health literacy.     

Patient health literacy and participation in the health-care process

Objectives  Health information is an important resource for patients to understand and engage in the management of their health conditions. We discuss the role of health literacy (HL) in improving patient participation and propose future research in this field.
Methods  Literature searches were conducted to review existing definitions and measures of HL and identify empirical findings of its impact on patient health/illness-related behaviours. We searched MEDLINE using 'health literacy' as a keyword and retrieved 371 articles published in English between 1985 and 2006. We also hand-searched publications of leading researchers and related institutes and followed the reference lists of relevant articles.
Results  The World Health Organization has defined HL as 'the cognitive and social skills which determine the motivation and ability of individuals to gain access to, understand, and use information in ways which promote and maintain good health.' Based on this definition, three levels of HL have been described: functional, communicative and critical. Studies of HL have increased dramatically over the past few years, but there is a gap between the conceptual definition of HL and its application. Thus, empirical evidence of its impact on patient health/illness-related behaviours is still limited.
Conclusions  The prevalence and consequence of inadequate HL as fully defined have not been determined. Further research is needed to develop measures of HL beyond the functional level and that consider the interaction of the individual patient HL with the health and social contexts in which the patient lives.     

FROM THE EDITORS

Abstract

As the need for electronic consumer health information services becomes more evident, librarians are seeking ways to cooperate with each other to provide timely and high quality health information. Collaborative projects between public, academic, and health sciences libraries take commitment, resources, and dedication, but provide a unique method of providing this information to a public whose need for high quality health information is growing exponentially. This article explores the efforts that have been made by public, academic, and medical libraries to bring information to the health care consumer and suggests ways to make collaborative efforts work to provide electronic access to up-to-date and quality health information.     

Increasing Public Awareness of Quality Health Information on the Internet

Abstract

Recent surveys indicate that the number of people looking for health information online has skyrocketed. Consumers have access to an abundance of information via the Web, not all of it quality, authoritative information. Bad information can be worse than no information. The Medical College of Wisconsin Libraries partnered with a local public library to offer classes to the public on finding quality health information on the Web. Within three months after each class, a follow-up survey was sent to participants to determine if they had accessed health information online since taking the class, if taking the class had helped them to find information, and if they had used any of the information in making a health care decision or in interacting with their health care provider. Results show that awareness of quality health related Web sites helped consumers to find information that they in turn used in managing their health care decisions.     

Health literacy and the Internet: a study on the readability of Australian online health information

Objective: Almost 80% of Australian Internet users seek out health information online so the readability of this information is important. This study aimed to evaluate the readability of Australian online health information and determine if it matches the average reading level of Australians. Methods: Two hundred and fifty‐one web pages with information on 12 common health conditions were identified across sectors. Readability was assessed by the Flesch‐Kincaid (F‐K), Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, with grade 8 adopted as the average Australian reading level. Results: The average reading grade measured by F‐K and SMOG was 10.54 and 12.12 respectively. The mean FRE was 47.54, a ‘difficult‐to‐read’ score. Only 0.4% of web pages were written at or below grade 8 according to SMOG. Information on dementia was the most difficult to read overall, while obesity was the most difficult among government websites. Conclusions and implications: The findings suggest that the readability of Australian health websites is above the average Australian levels of reading. A quantifiable guideline is needed to ensure online health information accommodates the reading needs of the general public to effectively use the Internet as an enabler of health literacy.     

健康信息素养应成为中国公众健康素养促进的关键点

  目的  分析北京市服务行业从业人员健康信息素养水平现状并探讨其影响因素,为有针对性地开展健康教育和健康促进干预工作提供依据。  方法  2016年7 — 8月在北京市疾病预防控制中心对所有新办理健康检查证明的2 040名服务行业从业人员进行调查,有效调查1 670人,使用χ²检验与logistic回归方法分析健康信息素养的影响因素。  结果  北京市服务行业从业人员具备健康信息素养的比例为23.5 %,平均得分为（6.97 ± 1.36）分。从业人员在“判断医疗机构是否合法的正确方法”问题上得分率最高（85.7 %）,对“阿莫西林胶囊的适应征理解”得分率最低（16.9 %）。女性中具备健康信息素养的比例（26.2 %）高于男性（20.1 %）（P = 0.004）。随着年龄增长具备健康信息素养的人员比例呈下降趋势（P < 0.001）。受教育程度和方便上网程度同样可以影响健康信息素养水平（P < 0.05）。户籍与职业对从业人员健康信息素养无影响（P > 0.05）。多因素logistic回归分析结果显示,受教育程度越高,健康信息素养水平越高;方便上网者与不会上网者相比,具备健康信息素养的可能性越大（OR = 5.354,95 % CI = 1.264～22.686）。  结论  北京市服务业从业人员目前健康信息素养水平仍较低。为提高从业人员的健康信息素养水平,需要针对重点人群和主要问题,采取适宜的干预措施。