Cultivating a community of practice: the evolution of a health information specialists program for public librarians

Background: To help improve the culture of health in Oklahoma—a state that frequently ranks poorly on multiple measures of health and wellness—faculty librarians from an academic health sciences library sought to create a collaborative network of health information professionals in Oklahoma’s public libraries through the implementation of the Health Information Specialists Program.Case Presentation: Health sciences librarians offered a variety of consumer health information courses for public library staff across the state of Oklahoma for three years. Courses were approved by the Medical Library Association for credit toward the Consumer Health Information Specialization. A total of seventy-two participants from public libraries attended the courses, sixty-five achieved a Level I Consumer Health Information Specialization, and nine went on to achieve Level II.Conclusions: Feedback from participants in the Health Information Specialists Program has indicated a positive impact on the health information expertise of participants, who in turn have used the knowledge that they gained to help their patrons.

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Developing an Online Consumer Health Course for Public Library Staff

10.17077/pp.005120 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Elizabeth Kiscaden ◽

Carolyn Martin ◽

Bobbi Newman ◽

Margot Malachowski

Keyword(s):

Health Information ◽

Public Library ◽

Consumer Health Information ◽

Consumer Health ◽

National Network ◽

Medical Library ◽

Health Course ◽

Midwest Region ◽

Online Consumer ◽

Library Staff

The National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Greater Midwest Region (NNLM GMR) received funding to support the evaluation and development of an asynchronous consumer health information course. Requirements of this project included: incorporating recommendations from NNLM instructors, National Library of Medicine staff and public library staff; piloting the revised course with a nationwide cohort; incorporating feedback from the pilot; and delivering a second instance of the revised course. The revised course meets existing requirements for public library certification and for Level 1 certification of the Medical Library Association’s Consumer Health Information Specialization.

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Hispanics and public libraries

Reference Services Review ◽

10.1108/rsr-02-2016-0015 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 44 (2) ◽

pp. 85-99 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

EunYoung Yoo-Lee ◽

Tamara Rhodes ◽

Gabriel M. Peterson

Keyword(s):

Health Literacy ◽

Health Information ◽

Information Needs ◽

Public Libraries ◽

Public Library ◽

Consumer Health Information ◽

The Internet ◽

Consumer Health ◽

Content Type ◽

Low Health Literacy

Purpose The fastest-growing and the largest minority group in the USA, Hispanics are known to have low health literacy because of their limited English proficiency (LEP) and other socio-economic and cultural factors. This paper aims to examine the health information-seeking behaviors of Hispanics in the e-health environment and their use of public libraries as a health information source/service. Design/methodology/approach An interviewer-administered survey was conducted using a semi-structured instrument. The questionnaires inquired about Hispanics’ health information needs, source use and source preference; use of the library for health information needs; and their perceptions and satisfaction about the library’s consumer health information services. A total of 26 Hispanics were recruited from a Hispanic community organization, a public library and an ethnic grocery store in North Carolina. Findings The majority of the participants are foreign born (92.3 per cent) and non-English speakers (84.6 per cent). The internet was the most frequently used source, followed by friends/family, doctors and TV. Eighty-one per cent of the participants were internet users, and most of them (71 per cent) used the internet at home. Only 23 per cent visited a public library to search the internet for health information. Some barriers to using a public library mentioned by the participants include lack of time to visit a library, lack of skills in using the library materials, transportation, LEP, lack of eligibility for a library card, etc. Social implications The findings will be useful for libraries and state/federal health services to evaluate and develop library services suitable for the Hispanics’ consumer health information needs. Originality/value This study is one of a few studies that use an empirical study of a low health literacy ethnic population to examine the possible roles of public libraries in enhancing health literacy.

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Consumer Health Information Specialization (CHIS) Sponsorship Program Improves the Capacity of Public Library Staff to Provide Health Information to their Community

10.17077/pp.005165 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Elizabeth Kiscaden ◽

Michele Spatz ◽

Susan M Wolfe ◽

Molly Knapp ◽

Erica Lake

Keyword(s):

Health Information ◽

Public Library ◽

Health Resources ◽

Consumer Health Information ◽

Consumer Health ◽

National Network ◽

Medical Library ◽

Library Staff ◽

Health Information Resources ◽

The Impact

In 2018, the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM) launched a national sponsorship program to support U.S. library staff in obtaining the Medical Library Association (MLA) Consumer Health Information Specialization (CHIS). To evaluate the impact of the sponsorship program, staff developed and administered a 16-question assessment to 224 library staff sponsored in the first year of the program. The objective of this research project was to determine if 1) obtaining the specialization was successful in improving library staff ability to provide consumer health information, 2) sponsorship made obtaining the specialization possible, and 3) sponsorship resulted in recipients offering new health or wellness services, programming, or outreach activities at their library. The survey had a 61% response rate (n=136) and all respondents indicated that obtaining the specialization met their expectations. Over 80% of respondents reported an increase in knowledge of health information resources and over half offered new health information programs and services as a result of the sponsored training. Additionally, over 60% of respondents weeded or updated their library’s consumer health resources as a result of the training they received for the certificate. Respondents indicated that their intention to renew the CHIS certificate or obtain the more advanced, Level II specialization, was not certain. This research indicates that sponsorship of the certificate program was successful in increasing the capacity of public library staff to provide health information to their community.

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Consumer health information services in public libraries in Canada and the US

Journal of the Canadian Health Libraries Association / Journal de l Association de bilbiothèques de la santé du Canada ◽

10.5596/c08-037 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 29 (4) ◽

pp. 141 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Susan Murray

Keyword(s):

Health Information ◽

Public Libraries ◽

Consumer Health Information ◽

Information Services ◽

Information Resources ◽

Consumer Health ◽

The Public ◽

The Us ◽

Set Up ◽

Health Information Resources

In response to a growing demand from the public for health information resources, North American public libraries have provided varying levels of consumer health information (CHI) services since the 1970s. Due to the availability of funding in the US, many American public libraries have provided CHI services, although the majority of these have been as partnerships with health sciences libraries or via the “Go Local” programs. In Canada, where no specific funding has been available for CHI services, few public libraries have set up CHI services; health information has generally been provided by augmenting health collections or “virtually,” i.e., by providing links to recommended electronic resources via the library’s Web site.

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Providing Consumer Health Information Service at Queens Borough Public Library.

Igaku Toshokan ◽

10.7142/igakutoshokan.50.260 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 50 (3) ◽

pp. 260-267

Author(s):

Noriko SUGIE

Keyword(s):

Health Information ◽

Information Service ◽

Public Library ◽

Consumer Health Information ◽

Consumer Health

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Book Review: Promoting Individual and Community Health at the Library

Reference & User Services Quarterly ◽

10.5860/rusq.58.1.6847 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 58 (1) ◽

pp. 58

Author(s):

Ellen Rubenstein

Keyword(s):

Health Information ◽

Medical Information ◽

Care Delivery ◽

The United States ◽

Consumer Health Information ◽

Policy Statement ◽

Consumer Health ◽

Institute Of Medicine ◽

Medical Library ◽

Patient Health

Interest in consumer health information has been steadily growing since the mid-twentieth century. As author Mary Grace Flaherty notes in her second chapter, Dr. Benjamin Spock published his book on baby care in 1946, and in 1973, the Boston Women’s Health Collective introduced Our Bodies, Ourselves; both of these supremely popular books offered accessible medical information to the general public and were revised and reprinted many times. In 1996, the Medical Library Association’s Consumer and Patient Health Information Section generated a policy statement addressing how librarians could be involved in facilitating access to consumer health information, and the Institute of Medicine began studying health care delivery in the United States, subsequently affirming that understandable consumer health information is integral to successful medical treatment.

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