Consumer health information

Intercultural health is an important part of CHI

To browse other articles on a range of HSL topics, see the wiki index.

See also

• Men's Health Pathfinders
• Women's Health Pathfinders
• Multilingual resources for patients
• Canadian consumer health information (CHI) portal
• Top 100 Canadian Health Websites
• Top Ten (10) Canadian Health Websites 2010
• CAPHIS | Top 100 Health Websites You Can Trust
• Consumer health 2.0
• Patient education

Introduction

Consumer health information (CHI) is used to describe the provision of health or medical information to consumers and even patients. Due to its clear, non-technical language, CHI explains medical procedures, prescription drugs and the health system as clearly and simply to consumers as possible. CHI also focuses on health prevention and promotion, and navigating through the health care system. CHI is found in pharmacies, health food stores, bookstores, physicians' offices, libraries and on the Web. As a form of biblio- or information therapy, CHI has grown tremendously in the last decade, and matches the rise of the web to some degree. From its early start in hospital and public libraries, CHI has grown into a large and important part of the work of health librarians. But this area of librarianship is about more than providing information about diseases. Studies show accurate information is critical to reducing patient anxiety and in enhancing compliance with treatments. Adequate provision of CHI is recognized as a major factor in patient empowerment for consumers. One of the best-known websites in consumer health is MedlinePlus (U.S.).

• For more detail, see "Answering health & medical reference questions: an introduction for information professionals" see these ppts and handout

Searching for health information by consumers

According to the Pew Internet report on health, consumers typically search for health information on their own and ~80% (or 93 million Americans) search for at least one of 16 major health topics. Looking for health or medical information is the most popular activity online, after email (93%) and researching a product or service before buying it (83%). Some of these statistics are mirrored in the Canadian context also. More than six (6) million North Americans go online daily for medical information and more go online for medical advice on any given day than actually visit health professionals (according to data provided by the American Medical Association). Only about one quarter of health seekers follow the recommended protocol on thoroughly checking the source and timeliness of information and are vigilant about verifying a site's information every time they search for health information.

The Consumers' Association of Canada states that the consumers of health care have the right to:

• Be informed
• Consumer education
• Participate in decision-making affecting their health
• Be respected as individuals with a major responsibility for their own health care
• Equal access to health care regardless of the individual's economic status, sex, age, creed, ethnic origin and location

Taken from Policy on Consumers of Health Care, p11, Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada November 2001

Evidence-based CHI

• Best Health (formerly Best Treatments) - http://besthealth.bmj.com/btuk/home.jsp
  • Building Collections - http://colldev.mlanet.org/resources/professional_resources.htm
  • Consumer Health Information Specialization Program - http://www.mlanet.org/education/chc/
• Cochrane Consumer Health Network - http://www.cochrane.org/consumers/homepage.htm
• Informed Health Online - http://www.informedhealthonline.com/
• MedlinePlus (U.S.) - http://medlineplus.gov (consumer health database and website of the National Library of Medicine with multimedia content and background information for patients and their families)
• NOAH: Understanding and Using Medical Information (Evidence-based Medicine) - http://www.noah-health.org/en/ebm/index.html
• UpToDate: Patient Information - http://www.uptodate.com/patients/about/toc.do?full_url_key=true&tocKey=table_of_contents/patient_information

Social media in consumer health

See Consumer health 2.0

References

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• American Library Association, Reference and Adult Services Division, Standards and Guideline Committee. Guidelines for medical, legal and business responses at general reference desks. 2001.
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