Health Literacy in Your Community Developed by National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Pacific Northwest Region ( funded by the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services under contract. HHS-N C with the University of Washington. 1

Introductions Please introduce yourself and tell us what brings you to this training. Tell us about your computer experience and experience searching health information. What do you hope to gain from this training? 2

What is Health Literacy? The degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. 3

Health Literacy Contributes to the Ability to: Know when to see health care professional Monitor medications – Take prescribed medications on time – Have family member/friend check – See your health care professional regularly to check medication levels Understand health risks – Ask your health care professional about your risks – Research to learn more 4

How to Keep Ourselves Healthy How to find health information we can trust to: Read Learn Discuss with provider Choose 5

Tips to Communicate with Health Care Professionals Here are 2 great websites to help you: Interact with your health care provider Ask the right questions Be an advocate for your health Ask Me Questions Are The Answer doctor/index.html doctor/index.html 6

Discuss illnesses specific to your community. On your Health Topic Search Worksheet: – Write down an illness that occurs in your community and/or that you would like to know more about. – Write down a mental health illness that you have heard of, but you aren’t quite sure what its full definition is. – Write down a drug, herb, or supplement you want to learn about. You’ll use this information during the lesson. 7 Community Issues

Online Health Information Internet for health information: –Updated regularly –Available anytime, anywhere How to access high quality health information How to distinguish good from bad information How to choose trusted Websites? 8

“Can This Website Be Trusted”? Guidance Questions to Ask: – Who runs the site? Can you contact them? – Does the site have advertisements? Are they labeled? – Where does the information on the site come from? Is the information reviewed by experts? Is it up-to-date? Does it make unbelievable claims? “Breakthrough” “Miracle Cure” 9

“Can This Website Be Trusted”? Guidance Questions to Ask (cont.): – Maintaining your privacy is important. Do they ask for your personal information? – Do they want to sell you something? – How is site designed? Is it easy to find your way around? 10

Sample Health Website to Review Please go to this website: Go through the guidance questions together. What did you find? 11

MedlinePlus.gov Look at your computer screen. You should see the homepage for MedlinePlus.gov 12

MedlinePlus.gov (continued) MedlinePlus.gov – free, trusted, family- friendly Hosted by reputable government agency: The National Library of Medicine No sales Can search for many health conditions Read, watch, listen, interact 13

Health Topics Search by alphabetical listings Browse by topics Conditions Diagnoses Demographic groups Health & Wellness Much of the content of MedlinePlus is represented in the Health Topics section. 14

Drugs, Supplements & Herbs Alphabetical listings by name Related topics 15

Videos & Cool Tools Videos: Anatomy, Interactive, Surgery Calculators & Quizzes Medical Terminology Evaluating Health Information Senior Information 16

Videos & Cool Tools - Navigation 17

Guide to Healthy Web Surfing 18

Guide to Healthy Web Surfing (continued) 19

MedlinePlus.gov – Content Selection Website selection: FAQs 20

How to Find NIH Senior Health 21

NIH SeniorHealth 22

Senior Health – Health Topics Page 23

MedlinePlus.gov Demo: Diabetes Search by Health Topics Disorders & Conditions 24

Diabetes Health Topics 25

Diabetes Health Topics Page 26

Search by Health Topics Alphabetical Listing 27

Updates Sign up for updates Scroll to bottom of page 28

Search Drugs, Herbs & Supplements Browse Drugs Herbs & Supplements by alphabetical list Related Topics 29

Drug Topics 30

Videos & Cool Tools Interactive Tutorials 31

Videos & Cool Tools (continued) Anatomy Videos 32

Search Box General description Links to Topics 33

Search Box – by Type & Keyword Refine by Type Refine by Keyword Medical Encyclopedia 34

MedlinePlus.gov - Benefits Each search from search box covers content of whole Website Guide to healthy web surfing Specific criteria for how content is selected 35

Take a Break! Water Stretch Restrooms 36

Hands-On Exercise Hands-on Exercise Refer to handout completed earlier Try searching the illness you identified by topic, then using the search box. Repeat for mental health illness and drug/herb/supplement. Please share. – What did you find? – Which was the easiest/most helpful way to search? – What did you learn? 37

Wrap-Up Add MedlinePlus.gov to your Website Thank you for attending this workshop and participating in your health! 38