Why develop web-based health information workshops for consumers?

ABSTRACT

Developing Web-based consumer health information workshops can be a great way to promote the value of library services and encourage the use of high-quality health information by consumers. This article begins with a practical discussion of the desirability of developing Web-based consumer health information training by libraries. In order to develop effective and usable Web-based training, using good instructional design principles is paramount. Ongoing evaluation and maintenance of Web-based training is also important. The article describes in detail the application of good instructional design in developing Web-based training for health care consumers, creating usable Web-based training, and the ongoing evaluation and maintenance of Web-based training. The article concludes with an overview of basic usability and accessibility principles for Web-based instructional materials.

**********

Developing consumer health information workshops can be a great way to promote the value of library services. Health care consumers will learn to view the library providing access to high-quality consumer health information instruction as the source of considerable assistance in gathering the information they need to make good health decisions. Such instruction furthers the mission of libraries to encourage the use of high-quality health information by consumers. Identifying and evaluating health information is a complex process. Libraries can make that process more transparent for the health care consumers they serve.

Web-based instruction involves the offering of instruction in the form of tutorials, courses, workshops, or pathfinders through the library's Web site. Web-based instruction is desirable for several reasons. The ubiquity of Web access means that many health care consumers who may not visit the physical library will be able to make use of the Web-based instruction. Web browsers provide a mostly uniform user interface. Web-based instruction is desirable because consumers can work through the Web from any place and at any time that they have Web access. This means they can access and use such instruction at the point in time when they actually need the instruction; they have the access immediately after they have received a diagnosis from a health care professional or at the point in time they need to make a decision about contacting a health care professional.

SOME EXAMPLES OF WEB-BASED INSTRUCTION FOR HEALTH CARE CONSUMERS

HealthInfoQuest: Pathfinders to Common Consumer Health Questions was designed by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (n.d.) as a tutorial and pathfinder tool for librarians to use in answering consumer health reference questions.

The State University, of New York, Upstate Medical University, Health Sciences Library (n.d.) has created "How to Find Reliable Health Information on the Internet," which provides the basics of both searching and evaluating health information on the Web. MedlinePlus: Interactive Health Tutorials is a project of the National Library of Medicine (n.d.). It is a growing collection of tutorials for consumers on multiple medical topics, including medical procedures diseases, injuries, and other issues.

WHAT Is WEB-BASED INSTRUCTION~

Web-based teaching can be as simple as publishing the equivalent of pathfinders or paper guides on Web pages for people to read. Instructors can add interactivity through forms or communication through a variety of options: email, Web boards, Web chat, etc. The more interactivity you have, the more time on the part of both instructors and learners is required. However, research and experience shows that learners will be more successful and more likely to complete Web-based workshops with at least a minimal amount of high-quality communications with an instructor.

The main elements of Web-based instruction are

1. The core tool: Web pages with instructional content.

2. Communications tools: On a stand-alone Web site, the content and design of the site provide one-way communication from teacher to learner (this may include multimedia options).

a. Asynchronous (delayed time) communication: Forms and email links within Web pages provide learner to teacher(s) communications; direct interpersonal…