Infopeople Webcast Series: Health eShows

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Infopeople Webcast Series Health e-Shows
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Health e-Shows

• Consumer Health Webcast Series
• Brought to you by Infopeople
• and
• the National Network of Libraries of Medicine,
  Pacific Southwest Region

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A Younger Generation of Older Adults Health
Information for Boomers
An Webcast
Presenter, Kelli Ham, MLIS kkham_at_library.ucla.edu
Monday, October 22, 2007 1200 noon to 100 p.m.
Infopeople webcasts are supported by the U.S.
Institute of Museum and Library Services under
the provisions of the Library Services and
Technology Act, administered in California by the
State Librarian.
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Agenda

• Whats different about health information
  services for Boomers?
• Health issues and information needs of younger
  oldsters
• Resources, Partnerships, Programs
• QA

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Visualizing Boomers

• By age
• Role (parent, caregiver)
• Technology comfort level

As you can see, its freeform and changing!
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Information-seeking Trends

• Self-helpers (all about me)
• Tech-savvy, mostly
• Think consumers
• Health-e patrons
• Healthier...?

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A Common Theme
Guess what? They dont know theyre old!
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Collections and Services for Older Patrons Old
vs New

• In past years, it was LARGE PRINT
• Times have changed.
• videos, DVDs, audiobooks
• technology
• and, still large print materials!

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Most Common Search Topics
Drug Information
Treatments
Diet Nutrition
Alternative Therapies
Diseases
Exercise Fitness
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Some Health Topics More Popular for Californians
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Boomers Health Issues and Information Needs

• All the regular topics, plus
• conditions related to growing older
• caregiving, Medicare, end-of-life issues
• navigating health care systems

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Drinking from the Fire Hose

• Unprecedented awareness
• Availability of information
• Social connections
• Dr. Googles Office Never Closes

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So Whats the Problem?

• Self diagnosis and self-treatment
• Lack evaluation skills
• Belief system interferes
• Overwhelmed by information and choices
• The good news

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The Library

• Offers education
• Provides resources
• Discerns community needs
• Responds with targeted services

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Remember Health Reference Interview Tactics

• Interview process essential
• What role is this boomer playing?
• Your goal is to provide appropriate,
  quality resources so your patrons can make
  informed decisions about their health.

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OPPortunities for Serving Boomer Patrons

• O Online resources
• P Partnerships
• P Programming

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They Want Online Resources

• Quality is essential
• Extend your collection
• .gov, .org, .edu sites
• Pitfalls and benefits of .com sites

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Where to Start?

• Best resources for different queries is key
• Patrons question
• My father has congestive heart failure. He
  lives with me, and Id like information that he
  can read and suggestions for how my family can
  help.

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MedlinePlus.gov

• Great place to start for all kinds of health
  information, including diseases and conditions.
• With your help, the patron finds the following
• overviews about the disease
• an interactive tutorial for her father to watch
• a booklet titled Tips for Family and Friends.

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MedlinePlus.gov
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Heart Failure Health Topic
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Resources for Complementary and Alternative
Therapies

• Question
• My aunt recently read some miracle claims
  about an herb on the Internet that would cure her
  arthritis. Are there any good sites that explain
  if herbs really work for certain conditions?

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National Center for Complementary and Alternative
Medicine
nccam.nih.gov

• nccam.nih.gov

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Resources Geared to Older Adults

• Question
• My elderly mother would like to use the
  Internet to read about her health issues. She
  has trouble navigating websites and seeing the
  print though what can you recommend?

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NIHSeniorHealth.gov
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NIHSeniorHealth Topics Page
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NIHSeniorHealth Video Sampling
nihseniorhealth.gov/videolist.html
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Resources Geared to Kids and Teens

• Question
• I have a teenager and a fifth grader.
  Diabetes runs in our family, so Id like some
  good websites for both of my kids information
  on good nutrition and how to get more physically
  fit.

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KidsHealth.org
kidshealth.org
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Communicating with Health Care Providers

• Question
• I have a hard time talking with my doctor
  hes always in a rush, and I dont know what
  questions to ask. Do you have anything that
  will help me?

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Talking with Your Doctor
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Questions Are the Answer
ahrq.gov/questionsaretheanswer/
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Help Them Evaluate

• Question
• Im overwhelmed by so much information how
  can I tell the good sites from the bad?

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Evaluating Health Information

• The Health Topic page in MedlinePlus is a
  one-stop shop!

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Dont Stop There!

• Health check tools
• Interactive sites - mypyramidtracker.gov
• Some commercial sites have added value

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Opportunities to Find Partners

• Partnerships make sense, because
• Mutually beneficial, complementary
• Two together can do more than each alone
• Extend the librarys reach

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Ideas for Finding Partners

• Local health fitness programs
• Hospital libraries, patient education centers
• Area Health Education Centers (AHECs)
• State and community directories, 211
• Local AARP chapters

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DIRLINE Community Partners
dirline.nlm.nih.gov/
nnlm.gov/outreach/community/
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Opportunities to Draw Boomers in with Targeted
Programming

• If its all about them, find out what they
  want!
• Involve partners
• Make it interactive and worth their time
• Evaluate and change gears when needed

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Idea A Healthy Year

• Keep the Beat Calendar Free resource from the
  National Heart Lung and Blood Institute
• Consider a year-long program on health!

emall.nhlbihin.net/ktbcalendar/
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Embrace Technology

• Why? Because your Boomer patrons do!
• Scan for new trends
• Keep learning
• Make it relevant

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Thank You!
Kelli Ham, Consumer Health Coordinator NN/LM
Pacific Southwest Region UCLA Louise M. Darling
Biomedical Library kkham_at_library.ucla.edu