ICML 9

9º Congreso Mundial de Información en Salud y Bibliotecas

Salvador, Bahia - Brasil, 20 a 23 de septiembre de 2005

BVS4

4a. Reunión de Coordinación Regional de la BVS

19 y 20 de septiembre de 2005

Health Information Literacy: A Contribution to Global Health

Participantes:
  • Faculty Librarian, Miami Dade College, Medical Center Campus  - USA
  • Library Director, Miami Dade College, Medical Center Campus


This presentation will focus on how the Miami Dade College (MDC) Medical Center Campus Library has incorporated Health Information Literacy into the curriculum. The campus awards the most degrees in the Allied Health and Nursing professions in the United States. Our campus’ students come from 65 different countries from Zaire to Azerbaijan to Tobago. Many of these students will return to their country of origin upon graduation and spread the skills that they have acquired within their own country.

A brief background of the campus and the programs it offers will be described along with a discussion of the value and importance of librarians teaching the principles of health information literacy to our future health care professionals.

The presenters will illustrate examples of how this project has been successfully implemented through:
- the creation of a PowerPoint learning tool that is taught to all nursing students during their final session at the college;
- The incorporation of this PowerPoint into nursing WebCT (online) classes to ensure that distance education students receive the same instruction as traditional students;
- the inclusion of this PowerPoint into all 16 Allied Health and Nursing program guides that are available online via the Library’s web page; and,
- the application for and successful receipt of an American Library Association Carnegie-Whitney Award. The purpose of this award is to create an annotated bibliography of high-quality print, audiovisual and web-based materials on preventive oral health care as well as oral health conditions and diseases written and/or designed for adults with limited literacy skills.