Beyond an Apple a Day: Providing Consumer Health Information in the Public Library An Infopeople Webcast Presenters: Kelli Ham, [email protected].

Beyond an Apple a Day:Providing Consumer Health

Information in the Public Library An Infopeople Webcast

Presenters: Kelli Ham, [email protected] Carr, [email protected] Network of Libraries of Medicine, Pacific Southwest Region

April 25, 200612:00 noon to 1:00 p.m.

Pacific Southwest Region Home Page

Today’s Agenda

Consumer Health – then and now Challenges faced by patrons and library staff Handling the reference interview Legal and ethical issues Consumer health services in your library Print and online collection development Collaboration with community partners

Housekeeping

Today’s webcast:– presentation: 50 minutes– Q&A: final 10 minutes

Submit your questions via ‘Chat’ during webcast so presenter gets them in time

Fill out evaluation during Q&A

Don’t wait for Q&A to submit questions

Webcast Archives:http://infopeople.org/training/webcasts/archived.html

When to Use Chat

Chat Area ThereList of Participants There

• Get help with technical difficulties •send message to “HorizonHelp”

• Ask presenter questions•send message to “ALL”

• Chat with other participants•“select name from dropdown list”

Changes in Consumer Access to Health Information

Historically, medical information has been provided to patients at the physician’s discretion -La Rocca, Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1994 Jan;82(1):46-51

“The patient has the right to and is encouraged to obtain from physicians and other direct caregivers relevant, current, and understandable information concerning diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis.” -1972 American Hospital Association Patient Bill of Rights

Factors that Stimulate Demand forConsumer Health Information

Patients start taking more responsibility for their own health care decisions and acting as their own advocates

The "baby boom" generation, known for questioning authority, starts to reach the age when medical concerns increase.

Health care providers adopt managed care models to curtail rising health care costs.

The introduction of user-friendly web browsers in 1995 make both access and dissemination of information on the Internet fast, easy and free.

Computers are more affordable now.

-MLA News, January 2003/No. 351:14

Consumers need a place to go that is:

– Non-threatening– Accessible– Has information in a format they can

understand (this is a health literacy issue)

The Public Library’s Role

Health Information Seeking – Issues for Patrons

Expect to find information that addresses their own unique problems

Base questions on misinformation or inadequate information

Have minimal library or research skills Have difficulty interpreting conflicting information Lack skills in evaluating the quality of information

Health Information Seeking Behavior

Exhibiting intense emotion – fear, worry Inability to present the problem clearly Unreasonable expectations regarding the

information that can be provided Confusion about the library’s role

Providing Health Information - Issues Faced by Library Staff

May not be familiar with specialized resources that would best answer the question

Language/vocabulary in medical texts might be too difficult for patrons to read/understand

Often time-consuming Afraid of giving the wrong answer Afraid of giving “medical advice”

The Librarian’s Role

“For librarians who work with healthcare consumers, it is important to understand the role that information plays in helping people to cope with the stress imposed by their condition or illness.”

– Consumer Health Information for Public Librarians,

by Baker and Manbeck (p. 5), 2002

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 identify appropriate and quality health information resources in response to requests.

Do provide a range of materials. Do explain why a resource is best suited to

answer their question

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 the condition.

Do not give advice.

The Health Reference Interview:What You Need to Know

Who is asking

How information will be used

What patron already knows

The kind of information the patron wants

Points to Consider

Suitable resources for information needed

Level of information needed

Verify terms used; check spelling in medical dictionary

Consider Your Body Language

Smile

Make eye contact

Move or turn toward patron; face patron directly

Lean in toward patron; maintain open posture

Speak at same tone/level as patron

Other Important Considerations

Answer the patron’s question as thoroughly as possible

ALWAYS cite source of information provided

DO NOT provide:– medical advice, opinions or recommendations – a diagnosis or interpretation of medical information

3 Little Words

I Don’t Know

Or, “I can’t get that information for you because…”

It’s okay to refer the person back to his/her health care provider

Health Reference Interview: Additional Sources

MLA Code of Ethics for Health Sciences Librarianship http://www.mlanet.org/about/ethics.html

ALA – RUSA Guidelines for Medical, Legal, and Business Responses: http://www.ala.org/ala/rusa/rusaprotools/referenceguide/guidelinesmedical.htm

NN/LM’s HealthInfoQuest Reference Interview Resources: http://nnlm.gov/healthinfoquest/help/interviews.html

Legal and Ethical Considerations

“Any librarian offering health information must be careful to offer only the information provided by the sources consulted and never to help interpret this information… The librarian may act as an information provider but never as a healthcare provider.”

– Consumer Health Reference Service Handbook, by Barclay and Halsted (p. 130), 2001

Legal and Ethical Guidelines

Privacy/confidentiality – Keep information confidential

Be sensitive to public environment Know the limits of your collection – Once you

have gone as far as you can go, refer the patron back to their health care provider or a professional association

What does this mean…?

Do not fall into the trap of interpreting or translating medical information into lay language

Help the patron find definitions or explanations that they can read and interpret themselves

If the question starts with “Should I…?” recognize that the patron may be asking for advice

Consider using disclaimers– See the examples in the disclaimer handouts

Providing the Service

Resources Books Medical texts Journals Newsletters Videos Brochures Health databases

(subscription-based) Internet resources

Services Internet access Computer technology Research services Printing and other

supplies Telephone reference Delivery services (ILLs,

E-mail, snail mail) Health fairs, programs

Collection Development

Consumer and Patient Health Information Section (CAPHIS) web site http://caphis.mlanet.org/resources/index.html

Medical Library Association Collection Development Sectionhttp://colldev.mlanet.org/subject.html

Alan Rees’ book – Consumer Health Information Services by Oryx Press. Regularly updated

Other Considerations for Consumer Health Collections

Retention of health materials is shorter than materials for general collection

Policy should include how materials are selected and weeded, and how gifts are handled

Attention should be given to special populations and the community served

What about Databases?

Many public libraries subscribe to health databases by companies such as EBSCO, ProQuest or Gale

Many state libraries provide access to health and other databases to public libraries

Online Consumer Health Resources

Use quality Internet resources to answer many consumer questions

Some of the best government websites:– MedlinePlus– NIH Health Information– Healthfinder.gov– National Center for Complementary and Alternative

Medicine – NIHSeniorHealth

More Quality Websites

Familydoctor.org– www.familydoctor.org

Dirline– dirline.nlm.nih.gov

American Heart Association– www.americanheart.org

Cancer.gov– cancer.gov

ClinicalTrials.gov– ClinicalTrials.gov

http://nnlm.gov/libinfo/community

Working with Community Partners

Topics Covered on the Community Partners Website

Growing demand for health information Providing health information services Guides for developing a community-based

health information program Funding opportunities for partnerships Resource list

Collaborate with other Librarians

Find your nearest hospital/medical librarian– MedlinePlus – Find a Library

• http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/libraries.html– NN/LM Members Directory

• http://nnlm.gov/members/adv.html – AHA Hospital Directory in MedlinePlus Directories

• http://apps.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/directories/index.cfm MLA Local Chapter

– http://www.mlanet.org/chapters/index.html MLA Consumer and Patient Health Information Section

– http://caphis.mlanet.org

Partner with Community Agencies

Go Local section of MedlinePlus Look in the community newspapers and see

which health-related agencies are getting recognition

Contact your chamber of commerce and ask for a membership list

Look in your local Yellow Pages

Planning the Service

Needs assessment– Keep track of health-related reference requests – The most common diseases and procedures in the

community can provide an overall view– Find out about local programs in your community

Know the Community

Analyze the demographic profile of your community– Age– Education level– New Arrivals? Languages?– Economic profile? Unemployed? Underinsured?

Demographic Resources

Sources for statistical information:– Your county’s website– CDC Faststats

• www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/map_page.htm

– Kaiser State Health Facts• www.statehealthfacts.org

– NN/LM PSR Regional Info for California • nnlm.gov/psr/about/region/california.htm

Regional Information

Funding Opportunities

Pacific Southwest Region Home Page

Thank You!

For questions or more information, call the National Network of Libraries of Medicine,

Pacific Southwest Region

[email protected]

1-800-338-7657