Cool Information Tools for Public Health Workers

Michelle Brasure & Martha Hardy

Health Sciences Libraries

University of Minnesota – Twin Cities

October 2, 2008

Part 1: Tools for Consumer

Health: MedlinePlus and My Health Minnesota Go Local

Michelle BrasureHealth Sciences Libraries, University of Minnesota – Twin CitiesCollege of Saint Catherine, MLIS program

Health Information and Public Health

HP 2010: Health CommunicationGoal: Use communication strategically

to improve health Essential Public Health Services

3. Inform, educate, and empower people about health issues.

Health Information Seeking

Consumers seeking health information rose from 38.2% in 2001 to 55.8% in 2007.

The largest increase was among those seeking health information on the Internet (doubling from 16% to 32%)

Center for Studying Health System Change,

August 2008

Health Information and the Internet

Most Internet users start at a search engine to find online health information

Very few check the source or critically evaluate the information they

Not all health information on the Internet is good information

Searchers become overwhelmed, frustrated, confused, or frightened

Pew Internet and American Life Project, 2006

Health Literacy

“The degree to which individuals can obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services they need to make appropriate health decisions.”

Institute of Medicine, 2008 available at

http://www.iom.edu/?id=31489

Evaluating what you find

Source Quality Be

cyberskeptical Evidence Currency

Bias Privacy Consult with your

health provider http://www.hon.ch/

Save time and avoid frustration

Use pre-evaluated resources produced by authoritative sources• MedlinePlus

• National Library of Medicine• Evaluated and carefully selected links to

health information• Health topics, drug and supplement

information, medical dictionary and encyclopedia, health news, and much more

MedlinePlus Demonstration

http://medlineplus.gov/

My Health Minnesota→Go Local

NLM sought to expand MedlinePlus to connect health information to local health services, programs, and providers• MedlinePlus and Go Local complement

each other Partnership with libraries, library consortia,

and other organizations Currently there are 35 Go Local projects Goal is nationwide coverage

Types of services

Hospitals and clinics Nursing homes Public health

departments Health screening

programs Pharmacies Alternative and

complementary health

Support groups Advocacy services Clinical trials Libraries Group homes Health care

equipment And more

My Health Minnesota → Go Local Demonstration

http://medlineplus.gov/minnesota

Minnesota Health Information

Governor’s Health cabinet created to help all Minnesotans better understand health care options, costs, and quality.

http://www.minnesotahealthinfo.org/index.html

Contact information

My Health Minnesota• http://medlineplus.gov/minnesota• golocal@umn.edu

Outreach Opportunities• Michelle Brasure• brasu001@umn.edu

Part 1: Bibliography

Pew Internet and American Life Project. 2005. Health Information Online. http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Healthtopics_May05.pdf

Center for Studying Health System Change. 2008. Striking Jump in Consumers seeking health information. http://hschange.org/CONTENT/1006/

Healthy People 2010. http://www.healthypeople.gov/Document/HTML/Volume1/11HealthCom.htm

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Public Health Performance Standards. The Essential Public Health Services. http://www.cdc.gov/od/ocphp/nphpsp/EssentialPHServices.htm

Part 2: What is Web 2.0? An Introduction to the Participatory Web

Martha Hardy

Health Sciences Libraries

University of Minnesota – Twin Cities

October 2, 2008

What is Web 2.0?

“Web 2.0 is a term describing the trend in the use of the World Wide Web technology and web design that aims to enhance creativity, information sharing, and, most notably collaboration among users.”

Web 2.0 Wikipedia

Other Terms

Web as Platform Read/Write Web Social Media New Media Participatory Web

Tim O’Reilly: Web 2.0 Meme Map

Pros and Cons of Web 2.0 ToolsPros Easy to Use Cheap (relatively) Accessible from

anywhere Perpetual Beta Sharing Collaboration

Cons Privacy Cost Technical Requirements Training Intellectual Property Credibility & Accuracy

Examples of Web 2.0 in the Health Sciences

Web 2.0 in the Health Sciences

“How Web 2.0 is Changing Medicine”• Dean Giustini (medical librarian)• Editorial published in BMJ in December of

2006.• Highlights how Web 2.0 applications such as

podcasts, RSS, blogs and social bookmarking can benefit health care professionals in their practices.

• “rather than intrinsic benefits of the platform itself, it's the spirit of open sharing and collaboration that is paramount.”

Examples of Web 2.0 Applications

Wikis Blogs RSS feeds Podcasts Social networking Social

bookmarking Photo sharing

Videos Personalized

pages Communication Collaborative

document creation

Part 2: Bibliography BBC News. “Berners-Lee on the read/write web.” 9 Aug. 2005.

Retrieved 30 Sept. 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4132752.stm

Giles, Jim. “Internet Encyclopedias Go Head to Head.” Nature. 15 Dec. 2005. 438: 900-901.

Giustini, Dean. “How Web 2.0 is Changing Medicine.” BMJ. 23 Dec. 2006. 333: 1283-1284. http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/333/7582/1283

O’Relly, Tim. “What is Web 2.0 : Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software” http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html

Part 2: Bibliography, cont.

Rothman, David. “Web 2.0: Plenary Session.” Medical Library Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illinois. May 2008. http://www.slideshare.net/davidlrothman/mla-plenary-session-iv-rothman20080513-static and http://www.visualwebcaster.com/stratosphere/48592/event.html

Seeman, Neil. “Web 2.0 and Chronic Illness: New Horizons, New Opportunities.” Healthcare Quarterly. 2008. 6(3):104-110.

Wikipedia. “Web 2.0.” Viewed on 28 July 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web2.0

Questions?

Contact us! Michelle Brasure

brasu001@umn.edu Martha Hardy

hardy017@umn.edu