The Medical Library Association Guide to Health Literacy

by Marge Kars, Lynda M. Baker, Feleta Wilson

Overview

Nearly a quarter of the U.S. population struggles with low literacy--and low health literacy. The inability to read, understand, and effectively utilize health information is linked to higher levels of chronic disease, more frequent emergency room visits, and early mortality. The cost and quality of care implications are enormous, and health literacy is a hot topic for policy makers and researchers--and for libraries struggling to respond to patrons' unmet health information needs.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781555706258
Publisher:	ALA Editions
Publication date:	07/09/2012
Series:	Medical Library Association Guides
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	330
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Joy H Harriman, MBA, MLS (Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center)
Description: Health literacy remains a vital component of modern healthcare. It is a key factor affecting a patient's ability to comprehend information about diagnosis, medications, or appointments. The patient population with low health literacy has a higher incidence of disease, risks having a higher use of the emergency room, has longer hospital stays and admission rates, and suffers more medication errors. This multiauthored book is offered as a forum for library and information science (LIS) professionals involved in helping consumers access and better understand health information.
Purpose: The intent is for librarians to learn how to help others become health literate and how to become change agents within the organization. The authors are librarians, recruited from all types of libraries to provide many perspectives enabling an understanding of the issues of health literacy.
Audience: Library and information science (LIS) professionals are the intended audience.
Features: The book is divided into four parts: essential issues surrounding health literacy; overlooked cultural, ethnic, special needs, and age related influences; best practices for public and hospital library consumer health programs and services; and examples that can be used to initiate health literacy programs. Different types of health literacy are defined. Recognizing social bias and the importance of cultural competency of librarians is reviewed. The complexity of the disabled population and specific ways librarians can find information is analyzed. The special needs of senior citizens and adolescents are addressed. Reference interview techniques, collaboration between libraries, and Canadian initiatives are discussed. Specific hospital library initiatives, foreign language resources, and funding resources are recommended. The book is concise, well written and easy to read. The table of contents is well organized, enabling readers to quickly find specific health communication topics. Each chapter has a thorough list of current references to aid in further exploring its topic.
Assessment: This is a comprehensive overview of the issues comprising the health literacy problem and approaches to effective health communication. There are no other books addressing health literacy from an LIS perspective. This book can be an important resource for librarians and health services providers.

Doody's Review Service