A Case Report of Health Seminars Supporting Patient Education, Engagement, and Health Literacy

Abstract

Increasingly physicians and patients express concern and frustration about the lack of time spent together during office visits. Some studies suggest a substantial number of patients fail to receive adequate preventive and chronic disease as well as acute care services due to lack of physician time. Low health literacy remains a problem in the United States yet systematic reviews of health literacy research suggest health literacy interventions are associated with improvements in clinical outcomes. This article describes a partnership between physicians, Consumer Health Librarians (CHLs) and other hospital administrators to increase face time between physicians and potential patients as well as address health literacy issues.

KEYWORDS:

• Consumer health
• health literacy
• librarian
• patient-centered care
• patient education
• patient engagement

About the Authors

Antonio P. DeRosa, MS, MLIS, AHIP ([email protected]) is Oncology Consumer Health Librarian, Samuel J. Wood Library, Weill Cornell Medicine, 1300 York Ave., New York, NY, 10065 USA.

Judy C. Stribling, MA, MLS, AHIP ([email protected]) is Assistant Librarian, Samuel J. Wood Library, Weill Cornell Medicine, 1300 York Ave., New York, NY, 10065 USA