Public Libraries: Iowa City Public Library created the Expanding Access to Consumer Health Electronic Resources Program with help from a grant from the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM). Academic Libraries: The Western New York Consumer Health Outreach Program educates the senior citizen population of Western New York about effective consumer health information internet searching strategies and analysis of resources. Academic Health Science Programs: In particular, Mini-Med School Programs which are condensed pre-clinical lectures given by medical faculty and staff for interested community members. The SUNY Stony Brook Mini-Med School Program incorporated consumer health information literacy instruction. Medical Libraries: The MLA’s Health Information Literacy Research Project produced the Information Rx Tool Kit, an educational curriculum to be administered to health care professionals about consumers’ health information literacy, as well as the impact of hospital and consumer health libraries. Health Care Providers: With help from the MLA and the NLM, librarians can partner with health care providers to give patients information prescriptions with these Information Rx pads. Community Based Organizations: RVHC Coalition partnered with local libraries and schools to initiate a health information literacy project. Defined by the Medical Library Association (MLA) as the ability to recognize a health information need, to identify likely sources and use them to retrieve relevant information, to assess its quality and its applicability to a specific situation, and to analyze, understand, and use the information to make good health decisions. Health Information Literacy Consumer Health Information Literacy: Prescriptions for Practices and Partnerships Presented by Lana Brand and Brittany Rhea Deputy University of South Florida School of Information Summary Consumers need to know: When and why they need health information. Where to find health information. How to evaluate the health information they find. How to use health information to make decisions. Information Literacy Defined by the ALA as the ability to recognize when information is needed and to locate, evaluate, and use it effectively. According to a 2009 Pew Internet Survey, 61% of American adults looked online for health information, more than twice as many as in Partnerships Summary Librarians are especially important to improving consumer health information literacy levels: We are information experts. We have access to consumers. We connect people and resources. Best Practices 1)Attend Teacher Librarian Training Classes  Effective teacher tools  Consumer health information reference training  Policy training on health information 2)Create a Consumer Health Information Literacy Curriculum  Provide an understanding of the structure, organization, and navigation of the Web.  Enable exploration, selection, and evaluation of credible consumer health information resources.  Examine tools for filtering information.  Model best practices in searching and evaluating health information on the Web.  Focus mainly on information from government, not-for-profit, state and local health departments, and social service departments. 3)Teach Tailored Consumer Classes  Pre-test the participants for basic computer and Web competency; divide accordingly.  Provide individual computer work stations.  Give visual demonstrations before hands-on exercises in some variation of a 10:15 time model.  Keep class as entertaining as it is informational to hold participants’ interest and attention.  Distribute take-home materials and create online follow-up support. 4)Community Outreach  Ask local media to advertise the program.  Set up exhibits in popular public locations.  Participate in health fairs and in fitness-related events.  Establish health information access points in health clinics. 5)Form Partnerships with Stakeholders  Literacy groups  Community-based organizations  Public and private schools  Senior-citizen facilities  Health care associations  Other libraries Areas for Future Development Putting the “information” into health literacy is a relatively new concept and practice, so there are many areas for growth: Measurement of consumers’ health information literacy levels Assessment of program and intervention impact Budget analysis of program funding and implementation Active marketing of programs for consumers and of certification for librarians Defined by the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) as the ability to use written information associated with a broad range of health-related tasks to accomplish one’s goals. NAAL Health Literacy Levels: Health Literacy IMAGE SOURCE: U.S. Dept. of Education Health Impact  According to Pew Internet surveys, 75% of online health information seekers inconsistently check the quality of what they find, yet 60% of them say their most recent search had an impact on their own health or the way they care for someone else.  Even the majority of the 86% of adults who do ask an authoritative health care professional for information will struggle to understand and use the information.  Consumers’ health information literacy level is a stronger predictor of their health status than age, income, education level, and racial or ethnic group. IMAGE SOURCE: Kate Singleton Economic Impact  Consumers with limited health information literacy utilize fewer preventative services and, as a result, visit the emergency room more often, increasing health care costs for the individual and the system at large.  The annual cost of low health information literacy ranges from $106 billion to $238 billion.  Future costs that result from current actions, or lack thereof, are estimated to be between $1.6 to $3.6 trillion. The Role of the Librarian  The public library is one of the first places consumers turn for health information, making librarians “front-line workers.”  An average of 1 in 5 reference questions are consumer health-related.  Librarians can build bridges between high-quality resources and consumers. Printed by: USF Shimberg Graphic Design & Printing