Chapter 16

Supporting Consumer Information

and Education Needs
 Objectives
• Define health literacy and eHealth.
• Explore various technology-based approaches to
consumer health education.
• Identify barriers to us of technology and issues
associated with health-related consumer
education.
• Imagine future approaches to technology-
supported consumer education.
 Key Terms Defined
• Blog - Interactive, online “weblogs”;
sometimes it is a combination of what is
happening on the Web as well as what is
happening in the blogger or the creator's
life; unique as the blogger or person
creating them; thought of as a diary and
guide.
 Key Terms Defined
• Digital Divide - Is the term used to
describe the gap between those who have
and those who do not have access to online
information. Fox (2007b) reports that the
current estimate of connectivity among
Americans is 71%.
 Key Terms Defined
• Domain Name - Series of alphanumeric
characters that forms part of the Internet address
or URL such as psu.edu that denotes Penn State’s
address.
• Dynamic Media - Health care organizations
(HCOs) use a wide variety of approaches and tools
to promote patient education and health literacy.
While the old standby for disseminating
information was and sometimes still is the paper-
based flyer some HCOs are recognizing (cont’d)
 Key Terms Defined
• Dynamic Media - (cont’d) that today’s
consumers are more attracted to a dynamic
rather than static medium. In addition, the cost
of designing and of printing pamphlets and flyers
becomes prohibitive when one considers the
rapidity of change of information. That is, the
brochure may be outdated almost as soon as it is
printed.
 Key Terms Defined
• eBrochure - Electronic brochure Patient education
material that is typically tied to an agency web
site, and may include such information as
descriptions of diseases and their management,
medication information, or where to get
assistance with a health care issue.
 Key Terms Defined
• eHealth - The development of nutrition
education programs as interactive computer
games, video games, and cartoons referred
to as ‘edutainment’ (Flores 2006). These
eHealth programs are developed specifically
to appeal to the generational (highly
connected and computer literate) and
cultural needs of this group.
 Key Terms Defined
• eHealth Initiative - Was developed to
address the growing need for managing
health information and to promote
technology as a means of improving health
information exchange, health literacy and
health care delivery.
 Key Terms Defined
• Empowerment - Promoting self-actualization;
achieve power or control one’s own life.
• Grey Gap - A term used to reflect the age
disparities in computer connectivity; there are
fewer persons over age 65 who use computer
technology than those in younger age.
 Key Terms Defined
• Health Literacy - The acquisition of knowledge that
promotes the ability to understand and to manage
one’s health.
– current technologies will be used increasingly to support
health literacy.
– For example, audio and video podcasts may become
more commonplace in health education, and be
provided as free downloads from the web sites of HCOs.
– Voice recognition software used to navigate the web
may reduce the frustration and confusion associated
with attempting to spell complex medical terms.
– Voice interactivity should help to reduce the disparity
associated with those who have limited keyboard or
mousing skills.
 Key Terms Defined
• HON Code - The Health on the Net (HON)
Foundation Survey (2005) describes the
certifications and accreditation symbols that
identify trusted health sites. The HONcode and
Trust-e were identified as the two most common
symbols that power users look for. The survey
also indicates that Internet users look at the
domain name and will frequently gravitate
toward university sites (.edu), government sites
(.gov) and HCO sites (.org). Fifty percent of the
survey respondents were in favor of the use of
a .health domain name to identify quality health
information web sites.
 Key Terms Defined
• Interactive Media - Communication media that
permits the recipient to be an active participant.
• Know-do Gap - reflects the fact that solutions to
global health problems exist but are not
implemented in a timely fashion because of the
lack of access to important health information.
The Internet connections in developing countries
are widely scattered and may not be
efficient/sufficient for viewing health care
information.
 Key Terms Defined
• Static Media - Cannot be updated; the print-
based brochure may be outdated almost as soon
as it is printed.
• Trust-e - The Health on the Net (HON) Foundation
Survey (2005) describes the certifications and
accreditation symbols that identify trusted health
sites. The HONcode and Trust-e were identified
as the two most common symbols that power
users look for. The survey also indicates that
Internet users look at the (cont’d)
 Key Terms Defined
• Trust-e - (cont’d) domain name and will
frequently gravitate toward university sites
(.edu), government sites (.gov) and HCO
sites (.org). Fifty percent of the survey
respondents were in favor of the use of
a .health domain name to identify quality
health information web sites.
 Key Terms Defined
• Voice Recognition - Software used to navigate the
web may reduce the frustration and confusion
associated with attempting to spell complex
medical terms. On the other hand, the confusion
and frustration may increase if the patient/client
is unable to pronounce the terms. Voice
interactivity should help to reduce the disparity
associated with those who have limited keyboard
or mousing skills.
 Key Terms Defined
• Web Quest - Search the www for information.
• Weblog- “A blog (a portmanteau of web log) is a
website where entries are commonly displayed in
reverse chronological order. "Blog" can also be
used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add
content to a blog.Many blogs provide
commentary or news on a particular subject;
others function as more personal online diaries. A
typical blog combines text, images, and links to
other blogs, web pages, and other media related
to its topic” (Wikipedia, 2008, ¶ 1).
 Introduction
• The challenge for consumers and health care
professionals alike is the proliferation of
information on the Internet and the need to learn
how to recognize when information is accurate
and useful for the situation at hand.
• We will explore consumer information and
education needs and how technology may help to
meet those needs, and at the same time create
ever increasing demands for health related
information.
 Consumer Demand for
Information
• More and more people, in a trend known as
consumer empowerment, are interested in taking
control of their health and are not satisfied being
dependent on a health care provider to supply
them with information.
• The Pew Internet and American Life Project
survey report of 2006 (Fox 2006) indicates that 8
in 10 of Americans who are online have searched
for health information.
 Consumer Demand for
Information
• It is important to note that this survey is
limited to those who are online, and does
not reflect the health information needs or
demands of those who are not online.
• The digital divide is the term used to
describe the gap between those who have
and those who do not have access to online
information.
 Consumer Demand for
Information
• Missen and Cook (2007), discuss the potential
impact that technology based health information
dissemination can have on the know-do gap in
developing countries.
• The know-do gap reflects the fact that solutions
to global health problems exist but are not
implemented in a timely fashion because of the
lack of access to important health information.
 Health Literacy and EHealth
Initiatives
• The goal of health literacy for all is one that is
widely embraced in many sectors of health care,
and a major goal of Healthy People 2010.
• Those of us who have been practicing for some
time recognize that informed patients have better
outcomes and pay more attention to their overall
health and changes in their health than those
who are poorly informed.
 Health Literacy and EHealth
Initiatives
• Healthy people 2010 defines health literacy as,
"The degree to which individuals have the
capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic
health information and services needed to make
appropriate health decisions".
• The eHealth Initiative (eHI) was developed to
address the growing need for managing health
information and to promote technology as a
means of improving health information exchange,
health literacy and health care delivery.
 Health Care Organization
Approaches to Education
• One approach is to have patient education
information stored electronically so that changes
can be made as needed or information can be
better tailored to the specific patient situation
and then printed out and reviewed with the
patient.
• Many HCO’s sponsor health promotion education
classes as a way of marketing their facilities and
showcasing some of their expert practitioners.
 Health Care Organization
Approaches to Education
• HCO’s are now also taking advantage of the fact
that patients and families are captive audiences in
waiting rooms and promote education via
pamphlet distribution, health promotion
programs broadcast on TV, and health
information kiosks.
• One caution, however, is that just because the
information is made available does not mean that
people will participate or that they will
understand what they have experienced.
 Promoting Health Literacy in
School Aged Children
• Promoting health literacy in school aged children
presents special challenges to health educators.
• The Children’s Nutrition Research Center has
responded to these challenges by supporting the
development of nutrition education programs as
interactive computer games, video games, and
cartoons referred to as ‘edutainment’ (Flores
2006).
 Promoting Health Literacy in
School Aged Children
• Donovan (2005) describes an
Interdisciplinary WebQuest designed to
appeal to older school aged children.
• The Quest is interdisciplinary in that it
requires reading comprehension, critical
thinking, presentation, and writing so that
core skills and health literacy skills are
learned in a single assignment.
 Promoting Health Literacy in
School Aged Children
• Nurses and other health care providers
need to embrace the Internet as a source
of health information for patient education
and health literacy.
• Patients are increasingly turning there for
‘instant’ information about their health
maladies.
 Patient Education
• The Health on the Net (HON) Foundation
Survey (2005) describes the certifications
and accreditation symbols that identify
trusted health sites.
• The HONcode and Trust-e were identified
as the two most common symbols that
power users look for.
 Patient Education
• The Pew Internet Survey (2006) indicates
that nearly 75% of online searchers do not
check the date or the source of information
they are accessing on the web and 3% of
online health seekers report knowing
someone who was harmed by following
health information found on the web.
 Patient Education
• The US National Library of Medicine and
the National Institutes of Health sponsor
MedlinePlus a web site that has a tutorial
for learning how to evaluate health
information as well as an electronic guide
to web surfing that is available in both
English and Spanish.
 Future Directions
• Predicting future directions for technology
based health education is somewhat difficult,
because we may not be able to completely
envision the technology of the future.
• Piette (2007) describes the use of Interactive
Behavior Change Technology (IBCT) to
improve the effectiveness of diabetes
management.
 Future Directions
• The goal of the IBCT is to improve
communication between patients and
health care providers and provide
educational interventions to promote
better disease management between visits.
 Thought Provoking Questions
• How do you envision technology enhancing
patient education in your setting?
• Formulate a plan evidencing a potent
patient education episode on MRSA.
Provide a rationale for each approach and
describe a tool you would use to educate
the patient and his/her family.