This document provides information about health education resources from the National Library of Medicine and the National Network of Libraries of Medicine. It discusses consumer health and health literacy, defines health literacy, and identifies populations that are more likely to have low health literacy. It also outlines National Library of Medicine resources like MedlinePlus and DailyMed and describes funding opportunities through the National Network of Libraries of Medicine MidContinental Region.

1. Health Education
Resources
Alicia Lillich, MLS – University of Kansas Medical Center – alillich@kumc.edu

4. NNLM MCR
(https://nnlm.gov/mcr)
The Mission of the NNLM is to advance
the progress of medicine and improve
public health through access to health
information.

5. • Develop skills and knowledge of
current trends in health literacy
and librarianship
• Increase awareness of NLM
resources on general health and
drug information
• Brief overview of NNLM resources
to support your library

6. Consumer Health and
Health Literacy

7. Consumer health refers to all things related
to the health of the individual consumer, or
user, of health services.
• Information written for the layperson, non-technical
• Individual does not self-identify as a "health consumer"
National Network of Libraries of Medicine. (2018). Consumer health information. Retrieved from https://nnlm.gov/

8. "The degree to which an individual has the
capacity to obtain, communicate, process,
and understand basic health information and
services to make appropriate health
decisions.“
Institute of Medicine. 2004. Health Literacy: A Prescription to End Confusion. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
Patient Protection and Affordable Care of 2010, Title V

9. National Network of Libraries of Medicine. (2018). Consumer health information. Retrieved from https://nnlm.gov/
Access health care services
Analyze relative risks and benefits
Calculate dosages
Communicate with health care providers
Evaluate information for credibility and quality
Interpret test results
Locate health information

10. National Network of Libraries of Medicine. (2018). Consumer health information. Retrieved from https://nnlm.gov/
In order to accomplish these tasks, individuals may
need to be:
Visually literate: able to understand graphs or other
visual information
Computer literate: able to operate a computer
Information literate: able to obtain and apply
relevant information
Numerically or computationally literate: able to
calculate or reason numerically

11. Institute of Medicine. 2004. Health Literacy: A Prescription to End Confusion. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
Patient Protection and Affordable Care of 2010, Title V
Limited health literacy especially impacts:
• older adults
• racial and ethnic minorities
• people with less than a high school degree or GED certificate
• people with low income levels
• non-native speakers of English
• people with compromised health status
• people with learning obstacles

12. Paasche-Orlow, M. K., Schillinger, D., Greene, S. M., & Wagner, E. H. (2006). How health care systems can begin to address the challenge of
limited literacy. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 21(8), 884-887. doi:10.1111/j.1525-1497.2006.00544.x
“Patients with limited literacy, when compared
with those with adequate literacy, more often
report that their doctors use words they do
not understand, speak too fast, do not
provide enough information about medical
conditions, and fail to make certain that they
understand their health problems.”

13. National Network of Libraries of Medicine. (2018). Consumer health information. Retrieved from https://nnlm.gov/
Patrons with health questions may be:
• Embarrassed to admit they have low literacy or low health literacy
levels
• Facing communication or language barriers
• Dealing with health issues that result in being shy, embarrassed,
angry, worried, irrational, or difficult to comprehend
Always be approachable, non-judgmental, empathetic, respectful, and
know your audience

14. Retrieved from September 5 2017 tweet by @larry_kunz

15. Everyday Words for Public Health Communication
(https://www.cdc.gov/other/pdf/EverydayWordsForPublicHealthCommunication.pdf)

17. National Library of
Medicine Resources

18. NLM Resources
(https://eresources.nlm.nih.gov/nlm_eresources/)

20. MedlinePlus (https://medlineplus.gov/)

24. MedlinePlus top searches in 2017

25. HealthReach (https://healthreach.nlm.nih.gov/)

26. DailyMed (https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/)

30. Pillbox (https://healthreach.nlm.nih.gov/)

32. ToxTown
Tox Town (https://toxtown.nlm.nih.gov/)

33. ToxTown Features:
• Key Concepts and
Glossaries
• Community Action
Tools
• Tools for Teachers
• Experiments and
Projects

34. National Network of
Libraries of Medicine
MidContinental Region and Beyond

36. Upcoming Educational
Opportunities
Thursday, March 28 – 2 CT
Getting Started with Information
Outreach in Your Community: An
Introduction
Tuesday, April 2 – 2 CT
Summer Library Programming and
Library Moon Walk

37. Upcoming Educational
Opportunities (continued)
Wednesday, April 3 – 2 CT
Music and Movement at the Library!
An Interactive Music Based Program
for Infants and Toddlers
Monday, April 8 – 1:30 CT
Health Literacy: Its Importance to
You

38. PubMed for Librarians
• March 26 – Introduction to PubMed
• April 2 - MeSH
• April 9 - Automatic Term Mapping
• April 16 - Building and Refining a Search
• April 23 – Using Evidence-Based Search
PubMed for Librarians (https://nnlm.gov/classes/pml)

39. MCR Professional Development Funding
(https://nnlm.gov/mcr/funding/professional-development-funding)

40. CHIS Sponsorship (https://nnlm.gov/gmr/funding/chis-sponsorship)

41. UPCOMING FUNDING
OPPORTUNITIES

42. MCR Funding 2019-2020
• Collaborate on a program or project with
a community group, school or library
• Fund public library programs
• Try out citizen science in my library
• Upgrade technology
• Promote diversity
• Engage in planning or conduct research
MCR Funding (https://nnlm.gov/mcr/funding)

43. All NNLM Funding
NNLM Funding (https://nnlm.gov/funding)

44. QUESTIONS

45. Your Nebraska Coordinator:
Robyn Woods, MLIS
Education and Outreach Librarian
Creighton University│Health Sciences Library
2500 California Plaza
Omaha, NE 68178
robynwoods@creighton.edu
402-280-4156

46. Outside the MCR?
Find your region: NNLM (https://nnlm.gov/)

47. Thank You
This project has been funded in whole or in part with Federal
funds from the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes
of Health, under cooperative agreement number UG4LM012344
with the University of Utah Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences
Library. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors
and does not necessarily represent the official views of the
National Institutes of Health.