Using focus groups to evaluate a multiyear consumer health outreach collaboration.

Tara Malone,Shari Clifton

doi:10.5195/jmla.2021.987

Abstract

Objectives:Academic health sciences librarians sought to evaluate the efficacy and future of the Health Information Specialists Program, a five-year consumer health information outreach collaboration with public libraries across the state.Methods:Five focus groups were held with participants from all five years of the program. Thirty-four participants from the program attended. Facilitators used structured interview guides consisting of eleven questions regarding the impact of the collaboration on participants' abilities to connect themselves or others to health information; the usefulness of materials or knowledge gained and its applications; any consumer health outreach projects that arose from the program; and suggestions for future topics, formats, or modifications. Data was hand-coded and analyzed using the framework analysis methodology for qualitative research.Results:Participants reported feeling improved confidence and comfort in providing health information services to their patrons. Numerous instances of knowledge transfer—in their personal lives, with their colleagues, and for their patrons—were described. Participants reported improved abilities to both find and evaluate consumer health information, and many adapted class materials for their own programming or teaching. Suggestions were provided for future class topics as well as a program website.Conclusion:Based on data from the five focus groups, the Health Information Specialists Program has positively impacted participants in a number of ways. Primary among these were self-reported improvement in both health information retrieval skills and the ability to evaluate the reliability of health information online, as well as in the confidence to help patrons with their health information needs.

Highlights

The majority of US adults search for health information online, with most relying on search engines such as Google or Bing to find health-related content [1,2,3]. In this age of digital health information—and misinformation— public libraries have a crucial role to play in the health and health literacy of the communities they serve [4]
Participants repeatedly expressed that with the information gained, they felt more competent and comfortable providing health information to others. Much of this increased selfassurance was directly credited to an improved awareness of reliable online consumer health information resources introduced by the program
Public libraries are a natural fit as contact points for health information, offering access to authoritative resources, healthy living activities, and health care and insurance programming [16]. The findings of these focus groups dovetail with the growing recognition of the importance of public-academic or public-medical library partnerships

Summary

Introduction

The majority of US adults search for health information online, with most relying on search engines such as Google or Bing to find health-related content [1,2,3] In this age of digital health information—and misinformation— public libraries have a crucial role to play in the health and health literacy of the communities they serve [4]. This includes ensuring that patrons have the skills to find and assess reliable consumer health information on the web. Public libraries are viewed as trustworthy arbiters of information and have long provided their patrons with health-related programming and health information resources, as well as other offerings that impact health literacy in their communities [7,8]

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Conclusion