and the role of the librarian in the development of a ‘healthy’ information literate society, presentation at Health & OPALS Libraries of NSW Forum, November 2005

1. Consumer Health Information and
the role of the librarian in the
development of a ‘healthy’
information literate society.
by Nicky Hayward-Wright
29th November 2005
“Charting the Information Future”
Health & OPALS Libraries of NSW Forum

2. Consumer Health Information
“ …is information on health and medical
topics provided in response to requests
from the general public, including patients
and their families” 1

3. Health Information Literacy
“…is the set of abilities needed to recognize
a health information need; identify likely
sources and use them to retrieve relevant
information; assess the quality of the
information and its applicability to a
specific situation; and analyze, understand
and use the information to make good
health decisions” 2

4. A health information
literate person can…
 Evaluate the quality of
the information
 Use the information to
make informed health
decisions
 Recognize a health
information need
 Identify and access
likely sources of
information
 Find and retrieve
relevant information

5. Provision
 Collection management
 Topic
 Level
 Format
 Literacy level
 Language, translation
 Cultural sensitivity
 Context

6. Provision
 Information development
 Neuro-Patient Resource
Centre, Montreal Neurological
Hospital
 Multiple Sclerosis Society of
New South Wales
 Information advocacy
 Library & Information Service,
Alzheimer’s Australia NSW
http://www.mni.mcgill.ca/neuropatient/resource.html

7. Access
 Reasons for going online
 medical condition of someone they know
 a new health problem of their own
 prescribed a new medication or course of treatment
 ongoing medical condition
 unanswered questions after a doctor’s visit
 changing their diet or exercise habits
 being a caregiver
 8 in 10 Internet users have looked for health information online
 Topics most searched
 particular illness or condition
 diet, nutrition and vitamins; exercise and fitness; experimental
treatments and drugs

8. Access
http://www.healthinsite.com.au
http://medlineplus.gov
 Website development

9. Access
 Selective reference service
 Collection development
 Alzheimer’s Australia NSW
@ Your Public Library project

10. Access
 Department store
franchise
 Book prescription
service
Birmingham Arthritis
Resource Centre

11. Skills Training
 Library staff training
 Information sources
 Health reference
 Health seeker training
 Health information literacy
 Computer literacy

12. Partnerships
…improve and enhance access to
services and information for the health
seeker, which would otherwise be
difficult to do on one’s own.

13. “Health [information] literacy means more than
being able to read pamphlets and make
appointments. By improving people’s access
to health information and their capacity to use
it effectively, health [information] literacy is
critical to empowerment.” 3

14. References
1. CAPHIS/MLA. (1996). The librarian's role in the provision of
consumer health information and patient education. Medical
Library Association. Consumer and Patient Health Information
Section. Bulletin of the Medical Libraries Association. 1996, 84(2),
pp. 238–239. (online).
http://caphis.mlanet.org/resources/caphis_statement.html
[accessed 17 October 2005]
2. MLA (2003). Health information literacy. Definitions (online)
http://www.mlanet.org/resources/healthlit/define.html
[accessed 17 October 2005].
3. World Health Organisation. (1998). Health Promotion Glossary,
p.10. (online)
http://www.who.int/hpr/NPH/docs/hp_glossary_en.pdf
[accessed 18 November 2005].

15. Useful Resources
 Consumer Health. An online manual by National Network of
Libraries of Medicine (South Central Region).
http://nnlm.gov/scr/conhlth/manualidx.htm
 Consumer Health Information: Selected bibliography of readings.
January 2005. Prepared by Susan Murray.
http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/uni_chi_biblio.jsp
 MLANet: Health Information Literacy: Health Literacy Resources
http://www.mlanet.org/resources/healthlit/healthlit_resources.html
URLs correct as of 20 November 2005

16. Presentation by
Nicky Hayward-Wright
Manager
Library & Information Service
Alzheimer’s Australia NSW