Collaborating with the International Medical Institute to Provide Health Information in Spanish

ABSTRACT

While getting a Web portal off the ground for the School of Medicine's new International Medical Institute (IMI), featuring freely available Spanish language materials, the authors became acutely aware that there was a dearth of information on such materials directed at the patient/consumer. In the interest of providing a more balanced picture and more resources, two native Spanish-speaking librarians embarked on a quest to locate high quality relevant resources that could be used by Spanish-speaking patients and their families to serve their health care information needs.

KEYWORDS:

• Consumer health information
• ethnic populations
• internet
• multilingual materials
• Spanish

INTRODUCTION

Early in October 2007, two native Spanish-speaking reference librarians at the Louis Calder Memorial Library of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine were assigned an exciting, novel project. The project consisted of creating a portal of freely accessible, Spanish language resources for health care providers and their patients in Latin America. The portal was conceived with the intent of providing materials to support new and existing international world class initiatives in research, education, and patient care for the School's International Medical Institute.

First, the librarians embarked on a comprehensive search of databases and search engines for a similar portal so they were not reinventing the wheel. Because their searches for a remotely close match proved fruitless, they proceeded to select and evaluate Web sites from the number of possibilities these searches yielded. They searched in MEDLINE (Ovid) and in Google (advanced search), using multiple variations of the key concepts in Spanish, such as información para el paciente, enlaces sobre salud, and so forth. Once promising results turned up, they closely evaluated those from .org, .edu, or .gov domains, which were not too regionally oriented. From more than 100 candidates, they compiled a list of 70 free, high-quality books, journals, databases, and individual articles, and the International Medical Institute (IMI) portal, Sitios Electrónicos Médicos y de Salud <http://calder.med.miami.edu/sitiosmedicos.html>, was launched on October 19, 2007.

Although Spanish is the third most common language used on the Internet (after English and Chinese), and there has been a 311.4% growth of Spanish-speaking users (compared with 218.6% for other users) during 2000–2007, ¹ the ever-popular NOAH and MedlinePlus en español were the only Web sites for the medical consumer identified in the search for quality, Spanish-language resources in the health sciences.2 At the time, and due to time constraints, only one source of consumer health/patient information, MedlinePlus en español, was added. Since then, the librarians dedicated themselves to trying to locate other comparable, authoritative resources. They were able to evaluate and select for the portal the following high quality resources. Web sites are listed alphabetically.

SPANISH CONSUMER HEALTH RESOURCES

American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology <http://www.aaaai.org/espanol/>

The Web site (see Figure 1) is dedicated to dissemination of new and practical information in Spanish on asthma, allergy, and immunologic diseases. It provides basic information, topic updates, and suggestions for good disease control on a variety of subjects: sinusitis, rhinitis, tobacco smoke, seasonal allergy control, occupational asthma, and more.

FIGURE 1 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology <http://www.aaaai.org/espanol/>

CDC. Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades <http://www.cdc.gov/Spanish/index.htm>

This informative and easy-to-navigate government Web site in Spanish (see Figure 2) offers a wealth of information on diseases, conditions, and safety issues. A multitude of easy-to-read medical and health information is provided in a well-organized manner with topics ranging from any given number of diseases (HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, cancer, diabetes, autism, etc.) to emergency preparedness, environmental health, healthy living, travelers health, and many more.

FIGURE 2 CDC. Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades <http://www.cdc.gov/Spanish/index.htm>

InfoSIDA. Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos de los Estados Unidos <http://aidsinfo.nih.gov/infoSIDA/>

This is a service of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The site (see Figure 3) provides current information and guidelines on treatment, prevention, clinical trials, and research of HIV/AIDS, including vaccines. The Drugs Database displays fact sheets with information on Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved drugs and on investigational drugs. There is a wealth of useful information and resources for specific populations (women, pediatrics, seniors, drug addicts, inmates, etc.) and for researchers, caregivers, and health care providers.

FIGURE 3 InfoSIDA. Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos de los Estados Unidos <http://aidsinfo.nih.gov/infoSIDA/>

Medline Plus. Información de Salud para Usted. Biblioteca Nacional de Medicina de EE.UU. y los Institutos Nacionales de la Salud <http://medlineplus.gov/spanish/>

This portal (see Figure 4) is produced by the National Library of Medicine and geared for the public at large, although health care personnel will also find it helpful. It contains a myriad of authoritative and recent medical information on diverse diseases and procedures both in English and Spanish. These bilingual useful features abound: a medical encyclopedia (A.D.A.M.), with more than 4,000 articles and an extensive library of medical photographs and illustrations; a dictionary; and extensive information on prescription and nonprescription drugs, hospitals, and physicians. Many exiting features are offered to the consumer: health news, thousands of links to clinical trials, interactive tutorials for different diseases and conditions with audio availability, RSS feeds with the latest medical information, and webcasts with videos of detailed surgical procedures. This site is also updated daily, another excellent quality of its contents.

FIGURE 4 Medline Plus. Información de Salud para Usted. Biblioteca Nacional de Medicina de EE.UU. y los Institutos Nacionales de la Salud <http://medlineplus.gov/spanish/>

Information, news, events, and statistics on health issues and safety are accurate and frequently updated. RSS feeds and podcasts on the latest health information from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) are available for easy download. Plenty of useful links are provided to related CDC agencies and publications and to featured resources for health professionals, children, educators, and the public at large. Exploring this site is a must for the information-seeking consumer or patient who wants to be well informed.

National Cancer Institute. Instituto Nacional del Cáncer. Institutos Nacionales de la Salud <http://www.cancer.gov/espanol>

This government Web site produced by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) (see Figure 5) offers top-notch, up-to-date information in Spanish on different types of cancer, including risk factors, genetic aspects, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Cancer topics are thoroughly discussed and well organized with sections on types of cancers (common and rare), body locations and systems, childhood cancer, women's cancer, AIDS related cancers, and more. Invaluable for the consumer or patient is NCI's Dictionary of Cancer Terms, accessible online and containing more than 4,000 cancer and medically related terms. Educational materials (fact sheets, pamphlets, and NCI publications) are free. Information on medical and financial support services (local community, nonprofit organizations, drug manufacturers, government, hospitals, etc.) is free as well and confidential. Also available free of charge is the Physician Data Query (PDQ), a valuable database for health professionals, containing up-to-date peer-reviewed, evidence-based cancer information and a registry of thousands of worldwide cancer clinical trials. The PDQ database is in English, but many of the summaries are in Spanish.

FIGURE 5 National Cancer Institute. Instituto Nacional del Cáncer. Institutos Nacionales de la Salud <http://www.cancer.gov/espanol>

National Institutes of Health. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) <http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/Spanish/index.htm>

The NINDS Web site (see Figure 6) has easy-to-read information on numerous neurological disorders that can be browsed, searched, downloaded, or requested by mail. These informative articles also provide agency or organization contact information so consumers can get additional information. Some of the articles end with a glossary in Spanish.

FIGURE 6 National Institutes of Health. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke <http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/Spanish/index.htm>

National Institutes of Health. Institutos Nacionales de la Salud. Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos <http://salud.nih.gov/>

This Spanish-language portal (see Figure 7) comprises reliable and practical health information on diverse diseases, conditions, drugs, and medical procedures. It includes direct links to government-produced, reliable medical and health-related Web sites such as MedlinePlus and healthfinder.gov. Other valuable health education resources are the multiple interactive tutorials with animated graphics and sound on diverse conditions, symptoms, medical tests, and surgeries. Information on participating in clinical trials is given in Spanish with a direct link for contacting (in English) NIH's Clinical Center. Articles, links to government health sites, press releases, and NIH Radio (in Spanish) will further keep consumers and patients aware of important health issues.

FIGURE 7 National Institutes of Health. Institutos Nacionales de la Salud. Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos <http://salud.nih.gov/>

NOAH. New York Online Access to Health. Acceso Computerizado de la Salud en Nueva York <http://www.noah-health.org/>

A partnership project from various New York libraries, this popular site for consumers offers free access to a large selection of reliable and easy-to-understand health articles in English and Spanish (see Figure 8). It includes links to a multitude of educational and health resources: libraries, institutes and organizations, news, and free online access to the full text of medical books and journals. This excellent site is a definite must for the well-informed consumer.

FIGURE 8 NOAH. New York Online Access to Health. Acceso Computerizado de la Salud en Nueva York <http://www.noah-health.org/>

CONCLUSION

The portal created for the International Medical Institute was well received and will be promoted by the Library and the Institute. Suggestions will continue to be solicited and resources identified and evaluated. Links will be periodically checked for accuracy. The portal is an ongoing initiative, and other high quality Spanish language resources will continue to be added in the future under the patient resources section as well as under other categories.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Joaquín E. Arriaga

Joaquín E. Arriaga, MLS ([email protected]) is Director for Reference and Education Services, Louis Calder Memorial Library, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1601 N.W. 10th Avenue, Miami, FL 33136.

Yanira García-Bárcena

Yanira García-Bárcena, MSLS ([email protected]) is Senior Reference Librarian, Louis Calder Memorial Library, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1601 N.W. 10th Avenue, Miami, FL 33136.