Health Information Literacy:

Teaching Students How to Evaluate Health Information

Michelle Burda, MLS

April 23, 2014

Pittsburgh, PA

Agenda

• Who is the National Library of Medicine & NN/LM MAR

• Health Literacy for Children• Evaluating Health Information• NLM resources• Sample activities/Medical myths

National Library of Medicine

Part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Library Of Medicine (NLM) is the

provider of PubMed.gov, MedlinePlus.gov, and many other health information resources

• NN/LM, formerly Regional Medical Library Program• Established in the Medical Library Assistance Act (1965)• Mission– Provide health professionals and the general public with

equal access to biomedical information• Coordinated and a program of the National Library of Medicine• 8 Regional Offices– Support Network members to achieve NN/LM mission– 5-year contracts

National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM)

NN/LM MAR Staff

http://nnlm.gov/

http://nnlm.gov/mar

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 care decisions.”*

*Ratzan, S., and R. Parker. (2000); Healthy People 2010 and Healthy People 2020

Health Literacy = finding, understanding, evaluating, communicating, and using information to make decisions.* Applies to both public and health professionals

*Calgary Charter on Health Literacy

It is an emerging public health issue that effects all ages,

race and income levels*.*National Patient Safety Foundation

The Literacy Problem

“Costs” of low health literacy

• Low health literacy costs the U.S. more than $58 billion annually.

• 50% of the U.S. adult population (90 million) fall into the low or basic health literacy category.

Health Literacy & Children• Little is know about adolescent

“eHealth” literacy and factors for improvement

• Developing health literacy skills is not a static process, continually evolving, develops over a lifetime

• Acquiring health literacy skills at an early age leads to developing an ability to understand health information

• *Sooner than later = lead to positive health outcomes

*Manganello, J.A.(2008) Health literacy and adolescents: A framework and agenda for future research. Health Education Research.23, 840-847.

Social cognitive factors and perceived social influences that improve adolescent “eHealth” literacyPaek Hj, Hove T. Health Communications, 2012:27(8): 727-37.

Findings- • Use the classroom to improve health literacy skills

• “To be effective programs need to have local and personal relevance to the target adolescents.”

• “The more adolescents believe that they themselves should use the Internet to find health information, the greater was the change in their eHealth literacy.” It may be important to allow adolescents to come to their own conclusion that eHealth literacy can benefit them.

Health Belief Model

• What motivates people to change?

Health Belief Model

• What makes people take action to prevent, screen for and control disease?

• Behavior depends on perceived benefits and barriers

• Knowing what these are can help us anticipate people’s responses to the health action we recommend

Health Belief Model

6 questions to ask?• What’s my chance of getting sick?• How serious is the potential health

problem?• What’s in it for me to change?• What’s the costs of changing?• What will remind me to do this & make it a

part of my everyday life• Can I actually do the behavior?

PewResearch Internet ProjectSocial Media and Young AdultsBy Amanda Lenhart, Kristen Purcell, Aaron Smith and Kathryn Zickuhr Feb. 3, 2010

• Part 4: The internet as an information and economic appliance in the lives of teens and young adults

http://www.pewinternet.org/2010/02/03/part-4-the- internet-as-an-information-and-economic-appliance- in-the- lives-of-teens-and-young-adults/#getting- news-online

Fox, Susannah and Sydney Jones, “The Social Life of Health Information” (Pew Internet & American Life Project: June 11, 2009). Available at: PewInternet Report Social Life of Health Information

Teens, adults and online health information

Technology Trend: Teens and Online Health Research

Googling for Health

• Most popular site Webmd.com (15% surveyed)

• General word search- Google, Wikipedia or Yahoo (19%)

• Used Health.com, or Mayoclinic.com, Plannedparenthood.com (3%)

• http://www.cyfernet.org/tech/02-09-TeenHealth.html updated 4-2013 CYFERnet is funded as a joint project of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and the Cooperative Extension System. You can read more information on USDA's community projects by visiting the USDA's Children, Youth and Families at Risk Program (CYFAR) site.

MedlinePlus

MedlinePlus: Children’s page

MedlinePlus: Teen Health

Evaluating Health Information

Life Long Learning Skill

5 Necessary Steps

Where did it come from?

Source- who is responsible for the content?

Who says so?• Authority/ author / expert

Fact or opinion?

• Objectivity/unbiased

Timeliness• Is it current?• Look for the date it was developed, last

reviewed or revised

Evidence• Information is supported with resources,

references, studies etc.• Cross-check data – “use 2”

Swallowing gum is harmful.

• “I just swallowed my gum. I was told it will sit in my stomach for 7 years.”

Broken Bones• If I hurt my arm or leg & I can still move it

then it is not broken.

Concussion

• You have to be hit in the head to have a concussion.

Asthma

• I don’t have to take my medicine when I feel good & I can breathe OK.

Resources for Medical Myths

• http://shs.osu.edu/blog/tags/medical-mythbusters/ Ohio State University

• http://www.uamshealth.com/medicalmyths University of Arkansas Medical School

• http://700childrens.nationwidechildrens.org/concussion-myths/ 700Children’s

Evaluating Internet resources• Evaluating Internet Health Information: A Tutorial from

the National Library of Medicine (MedlinePlus) http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/evaluatinghealthinformation.html

• Miracle Health Claims (Federal Trade Commission) http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0167-miracle-health-claims

• Kathy Schrock’s Guide to Everything http://www.schrockguide.net/critical-evaluation.html

• Health Information and the Internet: Who Can You Trust?

Curriculum Sourcebook was developed by the River Valley Healthy Communities Coalition (RVHCC) to share lessons learned and encourage similar efforts by other Healthy Communities Coalitions http://www.rvhcc.org/pdf/HIL_Sourcebook.pdf

NLM Resources

• NLM's Online Playground: K-12 Health and Science Resources from the National Library of Medicine (NLM)http://nnlm.gov/training/playground/

• Supporting a Healthy Community http://guides.nnlm.gov/mar_community

• More Than a Bandage: Health Information Resources for K-12 Health Professionals

http://nnlm.gov/training/bandage/

• MedlinePlus http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/

NLM Exhibition Program

NLM Online Resourceshttps://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/about/exhibition/education-resources-all.html

mburda@pitt.edu

Stay Informed

Thank You!

This project has been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No. HHS-N-276-2011-00003-C with the University of Pittsburgh, Health Sciences Library System.

Michelle BurdaNational Network of Libraries of Medicine,

Middle Atlantic Regionhttp://nnlm.gov/mar/

nnlmmar@pitt.edumburda@pitt.edu