CAPHIS at the MLA Annual Meeting » Orlando 2001
Cross Cultural Encounters of the Third Kind
Financial support provided by:
Public Services Section ($500 U.S.) co-sponsoring this session
Janssen-Ortho (Canada) ($500 U.S.)
Invited paper: 1
Contributed papers: 2
Moderator: Jane Fisher, New York Public Library, Office of Programs and Services, CHOICES in Health Information
Program proposal description:
This program will discuss culturally competent health care: the issues surrounding the provision of health services and information to consumers from a variety of cultural and linguistic backgrounds. It will explore how the collaboration of health sciences librarians with practitioners can assist in meeting this challenge. Contributed papers will focus on how librarians can develop effective reference skills to provide health information to this diverse audience, such as sensitivity to the information-seeking behavior of various cultural groups, awareness of the hurdles they face in navigating a North American health care system, and being responsive to the need for health information in a variety of languages
Invited Paper
Culturally Competent Health Care: Implications Of Diversity For Health Sciences Librarians
Robert C. Like, M.D., M.S.
Associate Professor and Director, Center for Healthy Families and Cultural Diversity, Department of Family Medicine, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Abstract
Interest in the delivery of more culturally and linguistically appropriate health care has grown dramatically in recent years. Reasons include: the nation's changing demographics; increasing workforce diversity; racial and ethnic disparities in access to care, utilization, quality, and outcomes; consumer demand and competitive market forces; liability and malpractice concerns; accreditation, contract, and regulatory requirements; and the pursuit of social justice. In this presentation, Robert C. Like, MD, MS, a family physician with a background in medical anthropology, will share some of his clinical and educational experiences in cross-cultural medicine. Demographic, linguistic, and epidemiologic statistics relating to cultural diversity and health disparities in the United States will be reviewed. A brief videotape will be shown to illustrate how cultural values and beliefs, and linguistic and communication issues impact on the delivery of health care. The concepts of clinical and organizational cultural competence will be defined, and selected strategies for providing more culturally responsive care discussed. The important role and contributions of health sciences librarians in working collaboratively with health care professionals to improve the quality of services provided to diverse populations will be described.
Biography
Dr. Robert C. Like (M.D., Harvard, 1979; M.S., Case Western Reserve, 1984) is an Associate Professor and Director of the Department of Family Medicine's Center for Healthy Families and Cultural Diversity at the UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. He is also Director of the Primary Care Consortium Health Services Research Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. Dr. Like is a practicing family physician with a background in medical anthropology, and has carried out fieldwork in the Azores Islands, Portugal; Beersheva, Israel; Zuni, New Mexico; and the Kingdom of Tonga in Western Polynesia. He is currently co-chair of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine's Group on Multicultural Health Care and Education, and is actively involved in providing training and technical assistance relating to the delivery of culturally responsive health care to diverse populations. He is also a member of the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services' Division of Family Health Services Planning/Advisory Committee on Cultural Competence, and has served as a member of the New Jersey Department of Human Services' Quality Management Council and Medicaid Managed Care Task Force. He is interested in the organization, financing, and delivery of family-centered, primary health care to vulnerable populations.
Contributed Papers
Hispanic Health Informatics: Cross-Cultural Encounters of an Outreach Kind
Authors: G. J. Perry, M. Young, M. Riordan, H. Fisher
Institutions: Arizona Health Sciences Library, Tucson, AZ; National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD
Abstract
Purpose: This presentation will provide an overview of Hispanic/Latino health issues, highlight key informatics resources, and describe three initiatives as models of collaboration for extending and enhancing access to ethnic-specific informational resources and services.
Setting/Participants/Resources: In the United States there continue to be disparities in the burden of illness and death experienced by racial and ethnic minorities, including Hispanics/Latinos, when compared to the population as a whole. Anticipated demographic changes, in particular an increase in the numbers of Hispanics/Latinos making that group the largest minority by the year 2010, will magnify the importance of addressing these disparities. Eliminating them will require proactive efforts at preventing disease, promoting health and delivering culturally competent clinical care. Effective health information services pertaining to Hispanics/Latinos can serve an integral role in improving the quality of research, clinical care, and prevention services regarding this distinct and diverse population.
Brief Description: At the Arizona Health Sciences Library, University of Arizona, three ongoing initiatives are underway to deliver Hispanic health informatics services. For health practitioners on both sides of the U.S./Mexico border, the Library sponsors a bilingual Web site providing access to Spanish language interfaces for PubMed and Pan-American Health Organization databases, along with document delivery services. The Library provides support to scholarship through an active partnership with the University of Arizona's College of Medicine's Hispanic Center of Excellence (*HCOE). Center support includes the ongoing evaluation of the Library's Hispanic health information resources, development of a Web site providing access to research, clinical information tools and patient education materials, and partnership in informatics training. To support Hispanic/Latino consumers, the Library markets its bilingual electronic and print consumer health resources through a Spanish language brochure developed in collaboration with the University of Arizona teaching hospital's Patient and Family Education Council (PFEC).
Results/Outcomes/Evaluations: The bilingual Web site initiative is undergoing evaluation by stakeholders utilizing a research based online query form. Support for the *HCOE is ongoing, featuring the placement of a librarian on the Center's steering team. Outreach to Hispanic/Latino patients is being measured jointly by the Library and PFEC.
Designing a Curriculum on Internet Health Resources for Deaf High School Students
Authors: A. L. Gregg, B. Epstein, C. Wessel, J. Wozar, L. Burik
Institutions: Health Sciences Library System, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA; Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, Pittsburgh, PA
Abstract
Purpose: This paper examines the integration of instruction about quality health resources on the Internet into the health curriculum of a specialized high school for deaf and hearing impaired students. Setting/Participants/Resources: The Health Sciences Library System (HSLS) at the University of Pittsburgh has formed a partnership with the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf (WPSD).
Brief Description: This project was partially funded through a subcontract with the National Library of Medicine. As one component of its Health Information for the Public project, HSLS formed a partnership with the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf (WPSD). This partnership allows for a librarian to provide instruction to health education and learning center teachers, and students at WPSD about health resources on the Internet. This paper describes the planning process, curriculum development, and challenges encountered. Challenges include: English as a second language, the need for a sign language interpreter, student reading ability at a 3rd to 4th grade level, and the need for appropriate visual presentations to accompany the audio counterpart.
Results/Outcome: The partnership formed between HSLS and WPSD improves deaf high school students' ability to locate quality health information found on the Internet.
Evaluation Method: A pre-class survey and course evaluation were used to determine the impact of the instruction.
Power Point Slides to download
Speaking Plainly: Meeting the Health Information Needs of Low-Literate Consumers
Invited paper: 1
Contributed papers: 2
Moderator: Kristine Alpi, Weill Cornell Medical Library, Samuel J. Wood Library (New York)
Program proposal description:
This program will explore issues surrounding the provision of health services and information to low-literate consumers. The session will focus on strategies for responding to the health information needs of low-literate consumers, such as developing reference skills to be sensitive to the shame and frustration that these users may experience in seeking health information, and locating plain language resources to assist low-literate consumers in understanding their health care problems.
Invited Paper
Speaking Plainly: Meeting the Health Information Needs of Low-Literate Consumers
Ms. Jill Dotts
Executive Director, Florida Literacy Coalition
Ms. Sandy Newell
Library Program Specialist, State Library of Florida
Abstract
This session will discuss health literacy efforts that work, from the lowest level of general awareness to a higher level of effort, such as conscious efforts to revise labels on pill bottles. It will also share examples of current resources available, such as the Health Literacy Compendium published last year, and a new video produced by Harvard University this year called, "In Plain English", which is geared toward generating an understanding of health and literacy problems and solutions for those in the health field.
Biography
Ms. Jill M. Dotts is the Executive Director of the Florida Literacy Coalition, a non-profit state literacy resource center. Her career has focused on community and educational organizations. She has developed and managed programs for the national sector of the American Red Cross, directed annual Combined Federal Campaigns for the Armed Forces, and served with the development team for the University of Missouri. Ms. Dotts earned her BS degree in Business Administration from Columbia College (Missouri) and her MBA from the University of Phoenix's Online Campus.
Sandra O'Bryan Newell is the Library Program Specialist with the Department of State Division of Library and Information Services (State Library of Florida), Bureau of Library Development, responsible for adult and family literacy and service to elders. She has been with the Division for 9 years. Before that she was a public library director in Jefferson County, Florida, and Thomas County, Georgia for 5 years. She has 10 years of experience in the adult basic education and literacy field and started the first English As A Second Language library-based volunteer literacy program in the Florida panhandle. Newell was Chair of the American Library Association, Public Library Association Advancement of Literacy Award Committee. She is the current Chair of the Florida Library Association, Outreach Interest Group, a member of the Florida Alliance of Information & Referral Services (FLAIRS) Board and is a member on the provider's board for the Florida Literacy Coalition. Newell received her Bachelors from the University of Florida and her Masters in Library Science from Florida State University.
Contributed Papers
The next step: Meeting the health information needs of consumers through established community organizations
Authors: C.S. Scherer
Organizations: University of Illinois at Chicago
Abstract
Purpose: This paper reports on a project that sought to empower community grass-roots organization by providing access to information pertinent to environmental health issues threatening local communities. Lessons learned can be applied to outreach projects to groups that serve a low-literacy population.
Setting/Participants/Resources: Librarians sought to expand their services to consumers via organizations whose mission was to improve the health of their communities through education and preventative measures, especially in the area relating to the environment. These areas included lead poisoning and asthma. Seven inner-city organizations that had already experienced some success in their communities solving environmental health issues, were provided with computers and training through a train-the-trainer model. Training covered Internet access, searching, and locating pertinent health information.
Brief Description: Provision of health information to consumers is generally thought of as a service to individual patients facing an immediate health issue. Consumers, however, can also be successfully served through groups seeking to provide preventative services for their communities. Librarians trained local leaders in searching the Internet for information to support their existing environmental health activities. A listserv was established for the organizations to communicate easily among themselves, and a webpage was designed to organize environmental information sources. Challenges arising from working with organizational leaders who have low computer skills made the project a new learning experience for librarians and these leaders.
Results/Outcome: While problems with computers and with training schedules were anticipated, serving those with low computer skills proved to be more complex than librarians had anticipated. Some sites were more successful than others. Factors that contribute to their success are explored.
Evaluation Method: Evaluations were conducted after every training session. A focus group to evaluate the entire project was held at the end of the project period. This paper enumerates the lessons learned by librarians who extend their outreach to groups not usually served by the academic community.
CHILE (Consumer Health Information Links for Everyone) Collaborating with Community Partners to Provide Health Information to Consumers
Author: JC McCray
Organization: Arizona Health Sciences Library
Abstract
Purpose: To improve access to health information resources for the people of our community and to develop a sustainable, working partnership between AHSL and TPPL. This presentation will discuss progress made in the first year. Setting/Participants/Resources: AHSL is the state's largest academic health sciences library. In addition to providing services/resources to its academic clientele, AHSL also delivers services to health care professionals and people around the state and backs up hospital and other librarians. TPPL is a city/county funded library system which offers a full range of services to both large metropolitan and isolated/rural communities. TPPL enjoys a high degree of use: 54% of the population (824,000) are active registered borrowers. Ethnic groups represented include Hispanics (24%), African-Americans (3.1%), Native Americans (3.0%), and Asian/Pacific Islanders (1.8%).
Brief Description: The CHIL project aims 1) to position the public library as the logical first point of contact for the consumer of health information in our county, and 2) to back up the front-line public librarians with appropriate ongoing training, a sophisticated, growing, locally-targeted Web site, and streamlined access to the wealth of resources at the academic health sciences library.
Results/Outcome: Public librarians will be better informed about health information resources on the Internet and in the community and are more confident in their ability to respond to consumer queries. Authoritative health information resources tailored to the needs of the community will be available electronically. Consumers will have more ready access to health information at their branch library. Access to the resources of AHSL are available to consumers with more sophisticated needs.
Evaluation Method: Evaluation focuses on testing the confidence of public librarians in answering health information questions, before and after training. Usability studies of the consumer health information Web site as it is developed is also planned.
CAPHIS Co-Sponsored Sessions
History of Health Sciences (sponsor)
From Idea to a Research Plan: How to get Started
Molecular Biology SIG (sponsor)
Gene Therapy & Genetics
CAPHIS previously committed to this
Collection Development (sponsor)
User-Oriented Collection Management
Hospital Libraries, Technical Services and Public Services co-sponsoring
Mental Health SIG (sponsor)
Consumer Health Information: Special Needs for Mental Health Populations
Nursing " Allied Health co-sponsoring
Program proposal description:
This program will focus on building librarian competence in providing mental health information to consumers. Rather than focus on actual library resources, this session will be devoted to developing public service skills to meet the challenges of providing information to patients/families/consumers such as: awareness of patron's emotional development when recommending resources; the stigma of addicted, mentally ill or homeless patrons; special issues for recently diagnosed patients; and interacting with patrons with some form of mental illness.
Chiropractic Libraries (sponsor)
Terminology " Reliable Resources in Alternative Medicine
Hospital Libraries and CAM SIG co-sponsoring
Lesbian/Gay Transgender Group (sponsor)
Travel Medicine
a number of co-sponsors
To learn more, visit the MLA 2001 web site at: http://www.mlanet.org/archive/am/am2001/program/index.html