Patient Education Resources: Bricks and Clicks Ruti Volk, Librarian Patient Education Resource Center University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center

Patient Education A planned activity initiated by a health professional whose aim is to impact knowledge, attitudes and skills with the specific goal of changing behavior, increasing compliance with therapy and thereby improving health. “The Provision of Consumer Health Information” Medical Library Association 1996.

Consumer Health Information Information designed to help individuals understand their health and make health related decisions for themselves and their families. (Healthy People 2010 project)

Question What qualities are you looking for in a patient-education or consumer- health material?

Why is it important to evaluate health information obtained from the Internet?  Publishing on the Internet is cheap and easy  No quality control  Open to all  On the Internet it is more difficult to distinguish between advertising and editorial content

Guidelines for evaluating Internet health information  Identity  Advertising and Sponsorship  Accuracy and Currency

Identity of the information provider: Check URL (web address).edu – university or a learning institution.gov – government agency.com – commercial company.org – non-profit organization

Identity of the information provider: Read the “About Us” or “Who Are We?” section of the site. Look for a physical location and contact information.

Advertising and Sponsorship  Is the advertising on the site clearly distinguished from news and information?  Does the site identify its sponsors and post sponsorship policies? Does the information provider disclose relevant business relationships with the site sponsors? Consider the following issues:

Accuracy & Currency  How dated is the information?  Check the date information was revised.  Check for references dates.

Accuracy & Currency  Is the information based on scientific data?  Look for references to peer-reviewed scientific journals, not newspapers or magazines.

Accuracy & Currency Is the information based on a personal opinion or a testimonial?  Personal stories or testimonials are not proven science.  Beware of emotional tone and promises that sound too good to be true:  Revolutionary innovation  Eliminates problem in days!  Healthy, simple and natural-way to help you…

What is HON? HON Guidelines Authority Complementary Confidentiality Attribution Justifiability Transparency of authorship Transparency of sponsorship Honesty in advertising and editorial policy We subscribe to the HONcode principles Verify Here

NOT a guarantee Websites apply to registered with the program By applying content providers certify that they commit themselves strictly to observe all the HONcode principles Applications are evaluated before they are accepted to the program

NOT a guarantee Only approved websites can display the “HONcode seal” A verification system helps users ensure that the site was registered with HON HON reserves the right to conduct random checks

Checked on 11/22/2005

Don’t count on it! Advise your patients to check identity and credentials of Web information Recommend quality websites Educate you patients on evaluating health information on the Internet. Refer patients and families to NLM (National Library of Medicine) tutorial

Sharing information with clinicians Every patient is a unique case with a different set of circumstances. Only a clinician can advise patients if the information found applies to their specific situation.

UMHS Resource Centers PERC - Patient Education Resource Center at the UMHS Comprehensive Cancer Center Health and Wellness Resource Center U-M Hospital HERC - Health Education Resource Center East Ann Arbor Health Center FDERC - FRIENDS Depression Education and Resource Center Turner Senior Resource Center WHRC - Women's Health Resource Center