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Health Information Literacy

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MLA Health Information Literacy Research Project

Applications of the Project by MLA Members

Updated 3/28/10

Web Tutorial

Lots of discussion on the forums

  • One forum asks “What will you do differently?”
  • Responses:
    • guide patients to quality websites vs. Google
    • tell institution about Info Rx
    • created trusted web site recommendations for patients
    • use tutorial info to teach other

Awards

  1. Andrea Harrow, Kim Hart, Holly Kimborowicz and Sabrina Kurtz-Rossi presented at MLA ’09 and received a contributed paper award “honorable mention” from the MLA Research Section.
  2. Lenora Kinzie, Carla Funk and Jean Shipman received a research award from the Midcontinental Chapter of MLA for their presentation on the project at the chapter’s 2009 annual meeting.

Publications:

  1. Shipman JP, Kurtz-Rossi S, Funk CJ. The Health Information Literacy Research Project. J Med Libr Assoc 2009 Oct.; 97(4):273-281.
  2. World Library and Information Congress: 75th IFLA General Conference and Assembly, Milan, Italy, August 25, 2009. PDF Download
  3. Medical Library Association. MLA Health Information Literacy Research Project. Consumer Health Information Survey Summary Report [Internet]. 11 Feb 2008 [cited 9 Aug 2009]. PDF Download
  4. Alderton, M. Reading, Writing and Rx. Forum. January 2009, 14-19. [cited 9 Aug 2009].

Posters

  1. MLA booth at various MLA Chapter meetings – Fall 2009 – Jean Shipman and Carla Funk.
  2. MLA booth at the 10th International Congress on Medical Librarianship – September 2009 – Jean Shipman and Carla Funk.
  3. MLA booth at the American Library Association 2009 meeting – Jean Shipman and Carla Funk.
  4. Providing Easy-to-Read, Trilingual Health Information for Hospital Patients: An Outcome of the Health Information Literacy Research Project. Poster at the MLA Annual Meeting, Late Breaking Session, May 19, 2009 – Andrea Harrow, Julie Smith and Sabrina Kurtz-Rossi.
  5. Poster for the Institute for HealthCare Advancement’s 8 th Annual Health Literacy Conference, Irvine, CA, May 7-8, 2009 – Andrea Harrow, Julie Smith and Sabrina Kurtz-Rossi.
  6. Health Information Literacy Research Project. Poster at the Institute for HealthCare Advancement’s 8 th Annual Health Literacy Conference, Irvine, CA, May 7-8, 2009 – Jean Shipman and Carla Funk.
  7. Health Information Literacy Research Project - University of South Alabama Pilot Site Report. Poster for the Southern Chapter/MLA annual meeting, October 29, 2008 - Geneva Bush Staggs and Beverly Rossini.
  8. MLA Health Information Literacy Research Project. Poster for the 2007 Medical Library Association meeting, Philadelphia, PA, May 23, 2007 - Kurtz-Rossi, Sabrina, Carla J. Funk, Jean P. Shipman.

Presentations

Upcoming:

“Looking for Health Literacy Solutions? Ask A Librarian!”, 9 th Annual IHA Health Literacy Conference, Irvine, CA, May 6-7, 2010. Sabrina Kurtz-Rossi, M.Ed, Kurtz-Rossi & Associates; Jean Pugh Shipman, MLS, AHIP, University of Utah; Gail M. Kouame, MLIS, NN/LM Pacific Northwest Region; Kelli Ham, MLIS, NN/LM Pacific Southwest Region.

This session will feature models of health literacy collaborations between health professionals and librarians, and ways in which attendees can adapt such a collaboration. It will highlight an evidence-based online Health Information Literacy tutorial available to health care providers to learn about quality health information resources for patients and consumers. An evaluation and adaptation of this tutorial will be shared.

Given:

  1. Workshop on Informed Consent that includes a section on plain language, Margo Coletti co-teaches with the legal, interpreter services and IRB at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA. Target audience is clinicians and researchers and course participants receive CME Risk Management and nursing unit credits; January 2010 and ongoing.
  2. “Jammin’ with the Results of the MLA/NLM Health Information Literacy Research Project (research paper).” Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Southern Chapter, Medical Library Association, October 31, 2009, Memphis, TN.
  3. “Health Literacy Workshop.” Workshop taught at the Taubman Medical Library, University of Michigan, October 23, 2009, Ann Arbor, MI.
  4. “MLA Health Literacy Education.” Continuing education course taught at the Annual Meeting of the South Central Chapter, Medical Library Association, October 18, 2009, Tulsa, OK.
  5. Dixie Regional Medical Center, Continuing Medical Education Program, “Patient Health Information Literacy: Resources and Tools,” October 2, 2009 given by Andrew Youngkin to over 45 participants.
  6. Utah Health Sciences Library Consortia, Salt Lake City, Utah, August 17, 2009. Results from the MLA/NLM Health Information Literacy (HIL) Research Project – Jean Shipman.
  7. NN/LM Webinars given to the Midcontinental (Jan. 21, 2009), South Central (June 17, 2009) Southeastern/Atlantic Regions (Nov. 18, 2009) and New England Region (December 11, 2009), Results from the MLA/NLM Health Information Literacy (HIL) Research Project – Jean Shipman and Lenora Kinzie.
  8. Update on the MLA/NLM Health Information Literacy Research Project. Presented at the Sixth Annual Wyoming Symposium for Health Information Professionals: Plowing Through Pandemonium: Proactive Librarians, July 16, 2009, Laramie, WY. – Jean Shipman.
  9. Canadian Health Libraries Association, Winnipeg, June 1, 2009. Health information literacy: a prescription for clarity -- results from the Canadian pilot site evaluation of the MLA/NLM health information literacy curriculum - Mary Chipanshi and Jeff Mason.
  10. Results from the MLA/NLM Health Information Literacy (HIL) Research Project. Co-presented at an Open Forum Session, 2009 Medical Library Association Annual Meeting, May 19, 2009, Honolulu, HI – Jean Shipman, Andrea Harrow and Holly Kimborowicz.
  11. Fusing Culture and Community to Improve Health Literacy. Section Presentation, 2009 Medical Library Association Annual Meeting, May 17, 2009, Honolulu, HI – Sabrina Kurtz-Rossi.
  12. Northern Alberta Health Libraries Association, TRENDS conference, Edmonton, May 1, 2009. Health Information Literacy: A Prescription for Clarity - Jeff Mason.
  13. News from the MidContinental Regional Medical Library and Results from the MLA/NLM Health Information Literacy (HIL) Research Project. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Kansas Biomedical Librarians, April 30, 2009, Kansas City, KS – Jean Shipman.   
  14. Essential Health Information for Librarians. Presented at the Utah Library Association annual meeting, April 24, 2009, Sandy, Utah - John Bramble and Claire Hamasu.
  15. Strategies to Improve Patient Health Literacy. Webinar, March 17, 2009, Denver, Colorado - Dana Abbey and Clair Birkman.
  16. Results from the MLA/NLM Health Information Literacy (HIL) Research Project and Vision for MidContinental Region of the NN/LM. Presented at the ICON meeting, March 13, 2009, Omaha, NE. – Jean Shipman.
  17. Ninth House Leadership Training Group, Utah State Library, March 5, 2009, Salt Lake City, UT – Jean Shipman.
  18. AARP Meeting presentation, January 2009 – Lenora Kinzie.
  19. Health Information Literacy Research Project: Exploring new frontiers. Co-authored paper presented at the 2008 Annual Meeting of the Midcontinental Chapter, Medical Library Association, October 5, 2008, Cody, WY – Lenora Kinzie and Scarlett Fisher-Herreman.
  20. Vital Pathways Plus: MLA Champions Hospital Librarians. Co-authored contributed paper presented at the 2008 Annual Meeting of the Midcontinental Chapter, Medical Library Association, October 5, 2008, Cody, WY – Jean Shipman and Margaret Bandy.
  21. Saskatchewan Health Libraries Association 2008 Fall Meeting, Saskatoon, October 2008 - Jeff Mason and Mary Chipanshi.
  22. Health Information Literacy and the Community. Presentation at the American Library Association Affiliates session, June 30, 2008, Anaheim, CA – Carla Funk.
  23. Health Information Literacy and the Community: A Demand Driven Solution. Presentation for an Association Growth Summit webinar, December 8, 2008 – Carla Funk.
  24. The MLA/NLM Health Information Literacy (HIL) Research Project. Open Forum Session, 2008 Medical Library Association Annual Meeting, May 20, 2008, Chicago, IL – Sabrina Kurtz-Rossi.
  25. Health Information Literacy Research Project. Invited speaker for AHA Society for Healthcare Consumer Advocacy 2007 annual conference, April 13, 2007, Tucson, Arizona. – Jean Shipman.

Curriculum Usage

  1. Nursing education masters student, Regina DeMasi, is conducting a health literacy research study and developing an in-service program for her hospital using the MLA curriculum, March 2010.
  2. Cameron Beck, medical student at University of Utah, presented the MLA HIL Curriculum to medical students in November 2009, and assessed the knowledge obtained immediately after the course was given as well as four-months later using the course evaluation tools.
  3. Michelle Holloway, Alaska Geriatric Education Center, Anchorage, Alaska. Used at annual “Promoting Best Practices in Aging Conference.” Health Literacy Presentation, May 2009.
  4. Karen Martinez, NW AHEC Library at Hickory, Hickory, NC. Added MLA HIL website to list of resources and included reading list as a handout with her “Health Literacy Awareness” program that has been ongoing for several years.
  5. Presentations at numerous staff meetings for nursing units – Lenora Kinzie.
  6. Health Literacy presentation each semester for School of Nursing – Lenora Kinzie.
  7. Angela Arner used the course to develop a self-study course for College faculty, staff and students at Nebraska Methodist College.
  8. Gail Morton (and a Mercer University Librarian) at the Medical Center of Central Georgia. Taught public librarians in Macon Georgia as part of an NLM outreach grant.

Miscellaneous

  1. Included project write up for Magnet Status accreditation which was achieved – Lenora Kinzie.
  2. Award received for HIL Project Participation and Magnet Status involvement – Lenora Kinzie.
  3. Lake Health System’s President presented MLA – HIL poster to the hospital Board of Trustees – Holly Kimborowicz.
  4. TriPoint Medical Center, Concord, OH, a new hospital will open October 21, 2009. The new library will provide a comprehensive patient and community library in addition to the professional library. The patient and community library is a new service line. - Holly Kimborowicz.

Products Developed

  1. Bookmarks – Be Informed about your Health – Stormont-Vail HealthCare and Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library.
  2. Pamphlet – Health Information @ Your Library – Scarlett Fisher-Herreman, Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library.
  3. Page in Stormont-Vail HealthCare 2009 annual report “Community Outreach” – Lenora Kinzie.

Reports from the Project Pilot Site Librarians (one year after the project’s end)

  1. Martha Prescott
    • Participates on the Patient Education Committee and is working with nurses to provide appropriate level patient education material.
    • Have had discussions with hospital interpreter regarding Health Information Literacy and have introduced interpreters to MedlinePlus materials.
    • Asked to join the Perioperative Committee to help streamline patient education resources; focusing on presurgery information and diabetes.
    • Representative from Quality/Joint Commission department approached librarian asking for information regarding health literacy issues.
  2. Julie Smith
    • The biggest plus has been the perception of my role as the expert on health literacy. I am routinely called on to review patient education publications from a literacy viewpoint. I'm sorry to say that there has not been a lot of use of the Information RX pads.
  3. Kim Hart and Tori Koch
    • They have seen increased library traffic. The Health Information Literacy Research Project seems to have raised awareness in staff/employees of library presence.
  4. Jeff Mason and Mary Chipanshi
    • One of the major impacts is the exposure of the library which is a common thread with most of the libraries that participated in the project.
    • They partnered with the public library and Jeff gave sessions to public library clientele on reliable consumer health resources. Jeff was also interviewed on the topic of health information on the Internet on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) program "Blue Sky."
    • This winter Mary will be working with the Regina Qu'Appelle Seniors Health Living Program which is part of the Public Health Department. She will be going to three senior homes presenting on finding reliable consumer health information. The class is called "Facts or Quacks - Finding Credible Medical Information on the Internet."
  5. Denise Rumschlag and Carolyn Martin
    • Increased awareness of library/librarians. Have become more integral in connecting people throughout their institution working on Health Literacy projects.
    • Working with hospital ethicist regarding grants to provide health literacy quick assessment or screening tool to be used in rural areas surrounding St. Vincent’s.
    • Working with Diversity Committee. Library seen as a positive resource.
  6. Andrea Harrow
    • Will move from part-time to full-time library staffing with hours added to librarian position.
    • Will also be providing CME assistance.
    • Helped institution with placement of Patient Education portal on hospital intranet.
    • Librarian profile has increased.
    • Have been asked to take on new projects with more responsibility.
    • Seen as more qualified and capable.
    • The HIL project has been instrumental in helping Andrea engage with the medical staff in new ways. In general terms, she really feels like she can call herself an advocate for health information literacy and better communication between health care providers and patients/consumers. After one of her HIL presentations, she had an initial request from one of her nurse managers for health and wellness information in Korean. This made her realize the existing need for patient education materials in native languages, especially Korean and Spanish and discovered the Ohio-based health information translations database. Because their nursing stations do not have Internet access, she created binders for each of the nursing stations with printed patient information in English, Spanish and Korean for copying. This was very well received, but when she returned some weeks later to check on how the materials were being used, she was disappointed to find that the binders had disappeared and were unknown to staff. She was then compelled to fully connect with her IS Department to implement a new Patient Education page on their intranet. She is fairly proud of this outcome and the much-needed centrality of access to these resources. And as a fresh, health literacy advocate, she is engaging with the individual needs of the health care providers in finding and creating patient education materials for low literacy patients, including creating home-made resources for our lowest literacy patients. She has also noticed that since she started promoting the library to patients and families in a trilingual flyer, she has started to see more Korean doctors in the library. Using native languages helps to build comfort for all library users. The Info Rx is worthwhile even if it is simply a neat give-away item. Someone, eventually, is bound to use it to make a referral to the library or to a reliable website.
  7. Holly Kimborowicz (see above)
  8. Lenora Kinzie and Scarlett Fisher-Herreman
    • Collaboration has been established between two libraries and two organizations. Public library frequently forwards questions and patrons to medical library when they are not able to answer a question.
    • Using Information Rx pads in new physician orientation. This has been a nice way to introduce health literacy and the library’s role in helping patients in the orientation conversation.
    • Have been asked to work on Cultural Diversity project/task force for organization.

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