CONSUMER HEALTH PROFILE
Holyoke Consumer Health Library, Inc.
Holyoke, MA
http://www.holyokehealth.info/
The Holyoke Consumer Health Library started in 2000 as an idea in one librarian's mind: Holyoke ought to have a consumer health library in English and Spanish for the people to use. Over the past 6 years there have been various attempts to promote and implement that idea. Originally, the vision was to establish a physical, bricks-and-mortar consumer health library in Holyoke. After confronting various challenges that encouraged us to think creatively, we have evolved into a decentralized, "virtual" library. In addition to our web presence at www.holyokehealth.info, we have developed a "roving librarian" model in which health librarians travel to partner agencies and public locations to do direct outreach. This decentralized model has allowed us an unprecedented amount of flexibility in meeting consumer health information needs.
In summer 2006, HCHL brought MedlinePlus to the weekly Holyoke Farmers' Market, thanks to an Express Outreach grant from the NNLM/New England Region. Using a local WiFi hotspot, we connected a laptop to our virtual library (our website) and offered demonstrations of MedlinePlus to passersby. We also handed out brochures about MedlinePlus and health resources available at the public library. With our portable printer and live online Internet connection, we provided customized search results for people. This Farmers' Market outreach is the most publicly visible of HCHL's activities to date and is fun for the participating librarians: Sandy Ward, Jennifer Hartley, and Kathleen Packard.
Photos below taken by Sandy Ward. First image shows our canopy with bilingual signage; second image shows librarian Jennifer Hartley using our laptop and portable printer.
Check out pictures of the Holyoke Consumer Health Library's outeach at: http://sward.smugmug.com/gallery/1473736/2/75234254 .
By Jennifer Hartley
Mission
The Holyoke Consumer Health Library, Inc. aims to provide Holyoke residents with access to health information to empower them to better advocate for their health needs.
We seek to:
- Build awareness of health information resources available in the community;
- Promote coordination among hospitals, agencies, health centers, and libraries in order to provide access to health information;
- Identify and assess gaps in health information resources and barriers to accessing information resources.
The Holyoke Consumer Health Library, Inc, is committed to reflecting and affirming the diverse ethnic and racial cultures and spirit of Holyoke by promoting information that is in the appropriate language and reading level and is culturally sensitive.
In Review:
"Family Health and Literacy: A Guide to Easy-to-Read Health Education Materials and Web Sites for Families"
World Education has done it again. Julie McKinney and Sabrina Kurtz-Rossi have published a resource to help integrate health literacy and the Internet into family literacy programs. To quote the guide, "When you integrate health and literacy you help students develop the skills and knowledge they need to make good decisions about their health and the health of their families." The guide emphasizes the importance of engaging learners and encouraging discussion while learning about health matters. In addition to being relevant for family literacy educators, the guide is helpful for teachers, health professionals and of course medical librarians.
There are several chapters which are of particular interest to librarians. In the "How to Get Started" chapter, there are sections on collaborating with health organizations and local and national health organizations to contact. This introductory chapter also includes sample activities and presentation approaches. For example, there is a "What is Good Health?" activity where students explore the different ways they think about health. Another activity, "How I Learn about Health" explores different sources of health care information on the Internet and the roles of each source in providing health care advice.
"Easy-to-Read Health Information" begins the compilation of web resources. The web resources are organized by topic. Topics include nutrition, childhood health and diseases, safety, healthy lifestyle, medicine use, women's health, health care access. Each topic is arranged with the following subheadings:
- Web sites with information on the health topic
- Curricula, lessons, and activities
- Direct links to handouts, charts, and tutorials
For educators, there is a separate chapter on "Curricula, Lessons, and Activities." Parents will be happy to find a chapter titled, "Parents and Children Together," which highlights health education activities, health-related children's books and online health games.
The guide also includes information on the Health & Literacy Discussion List which is a service of the National Institute for Literacy in partnership with World Education. To join the discussion list, go to http://www.worlded.org/us/health/lincs.
A print copy of the guide is available by purchase from World Education for ten dollars by e-mailing healthliteracy@worlded.org.
The online version is available free of charge at
http://www.worlded.org/us/health/docs/family.
Michelle Eberle, Consumer Health Information Coordinator
michelle.eberle@umassmed.edu
|
