Listening to patients: How understanding health information use can contribute to health literacy constructs

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/83167/1/14504701159_ftp.pd

"I didn't learn that in library school" - Experiential learning in consumer health for future public librarians

Interest in consumer health information has blossomed since the mid-twentieth century. Consumers have become much more involved in decisions related to their health care and in seeking information about health issues. Public libraries, as community organizations, have a long history of facilitating access to health information, and currently offer important resources such as computers and free Wi-Fi that facilitate access, especially for people who do not have computers or Internet at home. With the ubiquity and ease of access to online health information, however, various challenges arise. Consumers often lack the knowledge or ability to find information or to evaluate critically the information they find. Many public librarians also often have limited proficiency or experience in helping patrons with their health-related information needs. Although there are various opportunities for public librarians to obtain training in health information, library and information science students considering public librarianship are often not aware that there is a benefit, as well as a responsibility, to becoming knowledgeable about health information. This article discusses issues related to health information access as it relates to public libraries, and suggests practice-based options that could be useful for students preparing for careers in public libraries

Learning of Older Adults in Makerspaces

To address inclusion and equity issues related to older adults in makerspaces, we examine the void in current discussions of the maker movement and its intersection with adult learning theories

Connecting Rural Public Libraries to LIS Education and Research: The Case of Health Services, Programs, and Partnerships

In our increasingly interdisciplinary field, health professionals, advocates, and researchers frequently look to public librarians as partners. This trend may be particularly important in small and rural communities, where the public library occupies a uniquely important role given the disinvestment in health infrastructure in those communities. How are both current and aspiring small and rural public librarians receiving the education, training, and ongoing support needed to foster and sustain health services and programs with local, regional, and national partners? This panel draws attention to and discusses these issues in three ways: 1. Showcasing connections across three Institute of Museum and Library Services funded projects focused on small and rural public libraries and health; 2. Fostering audience interaction by soliciting questions and feedback prior to the conference; 3. Engaging in dialogue about how LIS educators can form and sustain connections to public librarians, particularly in small and rural communities. Topics the panelists will explore or discuss include, 1. What challenges and opportunities are associated with forming and sustaining partnerships with small and rural librarians, particularly in grant funded projects? 2. How can LIS educators learn from the experiences of rural and small librarians to ensure that LIS graduates have the knowledge and skills to be successful in their communities? 3. What additional work is needed to understand and support small and rural public librarians as catalysts of social justice and health justice

“12pm Eastern, 11am Central, 10am Mountain”: Student Contributions to Research on Rural and Small Public Libraries

This paper discusses the role and contributions of master’s students as members of the research team on an IMLS-funded research project on health and wellness programming in rural and small libraries. On this project, students learn myriad aspects of both research and practice, including how to collaborate on a complex project, how libraries function, particularly in this case, rural and small libraries, how to analyze, plan, and evaluate, and how to develop programming

An interdisciplinary intervention to prevent falls in community-dwelling elderly persons: protocol of a cluster-randomized trial [PreFalls]

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Prevention of falls in the elderly is a public health target in many countries around the world. While a large number of trials have investigated the effectiveness of fall prevention programs, few focussed on interventions embedded in the general practice setting and its related network. In the Prevent Falls (PreFalls) trial we aim to investigate the effectiveness of a pre-tested multi-modal intervention compared to usual care in this setting.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>PreFalls is a controlled multicenter prospective study with cluster-randomized allocation of about 40 general practices to an experimental or a control group. We aim to include 382 community dwelling persons aged 65 and older with an increased risk of falling. All participating general practitioners are trained to systematically assess the risk of falls using a set of validated tests. Patients from intervention practices are invited to participate in a 16-weeks exercise program with focus on fall prevention delivered by specifically trained local physiotherapists. Patients from practices allocated to the control group receive usual care. Main outcome measure is the number of falls per individual in the first 12 months (analysis by negative binomial regression). Secondary outcomes include falls in the second year, the proportion of participants falling in the first and the second year, falls associated with injury, risk of falls, fear of falling, physical activity and quality of life.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Reducing falls in the elderly remains a major challenge. We believe that with its strong focus on a both systematic and realistic fall prevention strategy adapted to primary care setting PreFalls will be a valuable addition to the scientific literature in the field.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p><a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01032252">NCT01032252</a></p

Routine Outcomes Monitoring to Support Improving Care for Schizophrenia: Report from the VA Mental Health QUERI

In schizophrenia, treatments that improve outcomes have not been reliably disseminated. A major barrier to improving care has been a lack of routinely collected outcomes data that identify patients who are failing to improve or not receiving effective treatments. To support high quality care, the VA Mental Health QUERI used literature review, expert interviews, and a national panel process to increase consensus regarding outcomes monitoring instruments and strategies that support quality improvement. There was very good consensus in the domains of psychotic symptoms, side-effects, drugs and alcohol, depression, caregivers, vocational functioning, and community tenure. There are validated instruments and assessment strategies that are feasible for quality improvement in routine practice

Body size and digestive system shape resource selection by ungulates : a cross-taxa test of the forage maturation hypothesis

The forage maturation hypothesis (FMH) states that energy intake for ungulates is maximised when forage biomass is at intermediate levels. Nevertheless, metabolic allometry and different digestive systems suggest that resource selection should vary across ungulate species. By combining GPS relocations with remotely sensed data on forage characteristics and surface water, we quantified the effect of body size and digestive system in determining movements of 30 populations of hindgut fermenters (equids) and ruminants across biomes. Selection for intermediate forage biomass was negatively related to body size, regardless of digestive system. Selection for proximity to surface water was stronger for equids relative to ruminants, regardless of body size. To be more generalisable, we suggest that the FMH explicitly incorporate contingencies in body size and digestive system, with small-bodied ruminants selecting more strongly for potential energy intake, and hindgut fermenters selecting more strongly for surface water.DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT : The dataset used in our analyses is available via Dryad repository (https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.jsxksn09f) following a year-long embargo from publication of the manuscript. The coordinates associated with mountain zebra data are not provided in an effort to protect critically endangered black rhino (Diceros bicornis) locations. Interested researchers can contact the data owner (Minnesota Zoo) directly for inquiries.https://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/elehj2022Mammal Research InstituteZoology and Entomolog

Researcher Subjects: Gaining Access and Building Trust in an Online Breast Cancer Support Group

This poster presents an analysis of some of the challenges in gaining access and building trust in an online breast cancer support group. Although the group itself is not a closed group and is freely available on the Internet, divergent participant beliefs about privacy and public access to this website, as well as conceptions of research methods and ethical concerns, offer provocative insights into the perceptions online participants have about research, the role of researchers, and the juxtaposition of researchers and subjects within the context of this particular online community

"It's a microcosm of life": weaving a web of information and support in an online breast cancer community

This ethnographic study examines the interactions of an online breast cancer community to understand participants' information behavior, the role of social support in participants' lives, how being part of this community influences health decisions and practices, and how the community is integrated into participants' everyday lives. Using archives analysis, participant-observation, and interviews, I learned that this community is a microcosm of daily life, comprising a complex culture that has a significant impact on many participants' lives. Members of the community help each other as they deal with breast cancer, but the community also incorporates diverse interactions that exceed the boundaries of breast cancer, reaching into other health conditions as well as the challenges and joys of everyday life. Many participants noted strong emotional ties to others in the community, enhancing these ties through email, phone conversations, and face-to-face meetings. An important finding of this study is the social integration of participants beyond the scope of the online space through their communication practices as well as the lengths they go to when assisting each other. I also found that exchanges of information and social support in this community are interwoven, inextricably linked in such a way that most conversations are suffused with both, occurring in conjunction with each other. My analysis showed that interactions that initially appeared to be either information exchange or expressions of social support actually comprised elements of both, threaded together in such a way as to make it difficult to distinguish one from the other. This study offers insights about the richness and complexity of relationships that occur in this particular online forum as well as insights into the potential of online health communities. Community participants have built a web of relationships through conversations interwoven with information and social support, constructing an atmosphere that is helpful, supportive, and meaningful, and which often expands beyond the scope of an online community