Health, Digital, and Research Literacy Support for Your Library Patrons
In celebration of Health Literacy Month, we’ll explore three health literacies common in library health programming—health literacy, digital literacy, and research literacy (addressed by participatory research, also known as citizen/community science programming)—and how increasing these literacies can help achieve health equity. We’ll connect you with resources from the NNLM and explore ways public libraries can support their communities by working with the NNLM and other reputable organizations.
The Intersection of Health and Digital Literacy
Many people turn to the internet when looking for health information. Understanding where and how to find reputable health information is key to digital health literacy. Digital health literacy combines the skills of understanding and using health information (health literacy) with the ability to navigate the internet and use technology to find reliable information (digital literacy).
In recent years, digital literacy has shifted from referring only to acquiring skills and using technology to including digital thinking or identifying and protecting oneself from misinformation. Being part of the digitally literate population has become vital to being able to do anything from applying for a job to accessing healthcare information. Nevertheless, digital inequities exist, an area that libraries are experts in addressing.
According to the American Library Association (ALA), nearly 90 percent of libraries offer digital literacy training, and a significant majority support training related to using new technology devices (62 percent), safe online practices (57 percent), and social media use (56 percent) (American Library Association, 2020). It is vital to address these inequities as they are credited with a “potential to shape life chances in multiple ways” (Robinson et al., 2015, p. 570). Many of those life chances are related to health outcomes. Without digital literacy skills and the digital access necessary to access health information, forms, telehealth, and personal electronic health records, historically underserved populations (including racial and ethnic minorities, sexual and gender minorities, people with disabilities, and low-income demographics) will have health inequities that are perpetuated.
Libraries already provide digital access to many digital and health literacy training and programming programs, and NNLM is here to help!
The NNLM is dedicated to helping libraries pursue equity in these literacies and related research literacy. The NNLM recognizes capacity issues libraries face and constantly strives to supply free and relevant training, webinars, and trusted resources to help support your community and to find tested examples of programming you could mimic in your library.
Resources for Librarians
- Telehealth 101: What libraries need to know
- Discuss virtual telehealth access centers such as libraries and their potential impact on health equity in rural communities with Palmetto Connect: Fostering Digital Inclusion in Rural South Carolina
- Health Literacy On Demand
- See how Wisconsin Health Literacy is supporting digital health literacy in their state at wisconsinliteracy.org/healthliteracy
- Learn more about digital inclusion from WebJunction
- The National Digital Inclusion Alliance provides resources on access to technology at digitalinclusion.org
- LibrariesTransform offers free toolkits on digital literacy and health literacy at ilovelibraries.org/librariestransform
You can also earn your Consumer Health Information Specialization by taking classes from NNLM to help improve your health literacy skills.
Resources to share with your patrons:
- Get a Free Email Address
- Avoid Scams and Phishing
- Find Reliable Health Information Online: Website Detective
- Use MedlinePlus to Find Reliable Health Information
- Access online digital literacy skills at digitallearn.org
- MedlinePlus offers guides to health web surfing and evaluating health information
- The Public Library Association offers resources on digital literacy and tools for healthy communities
Research Literacy as Viewed as Participatory Science, Also Known as Citizen/Community Science
You may have heard of citizen or community science but may not know how to incorporate free programming in your library. Many organizations support data-sharing projects so that people all over the world can support research that is relevant to their communities. For example, SciStarter offers many programs, such as Globe at Night, where anyone with a cell phone or mobile device can record pictures and information about the stars and night sky in their neighborhood and share that information with the SciStarter database. Researchers then use this information to learn more about light pollution in different areas of the world and how that affects health. Anyone can be a researcher and make a difference in the health of their families, communities, and the world!
Are you interested in offering citizen/community science programming in your library but need help figuring out what to do? Download and use free participatory science guides for libraries and community partners, and access our Introduction to Citizen Science online course today!
Citizen/Community Science Resources for Librarians
- Download our free citizen science guides for libraries and community partners at scistarter.org/nlm
- Learn more about citizen science by taking our online Introduction to Citizen Science Online Course
- See what NNLM is doing with Citizen Science and Crowdsourcing
Whether a public library is new to offering health, digital, and research literacy programming or already has a slate of programs scheduled, the NNLM can help strengthen library patrons’ digital health literacy skills.
Visit NNLM.gov for more!
This article includes summaries of portions of this author’s contribution to:
S. Acosta-Ramirez, J. Giffin, B. Thomas (2024). Digital Health Literacy Training and Citizen/Community Science Programming. In E. Vardell & D. Charbonneau (Eds.), Health Literacy and Libraries (pp. 289-305). Rowman & Littlefield.
Other Citations:
American Library Association. (2020). Digital Empowerment and America’s Libraries. https://www.ala.org/advocacy/sites/ala.org.advocacy/files/con- tent/access/Broadband_web_01-15-17.pdf.
Robinson, L., Cotten, S. R., Ono, H., Quan-Haase, A., Mesch, G., Chen, W., Schulz, J., Hale, T. M., & Stern, M. J. (2015). Digital inequalities and why they matter. Information Communication and Society, 18(5). https://doi.org /10.1080/1369118X.2015.1012532.
Stormacq, C., Van Den Broucke, S., & Wosinski, J. (2019). Does health literacy mediate the relationship between socioeconomic status and health disparities? Integrative review. Health Promotion International, 34(5), e1–e17. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/day062.
Health, Digital, and Research Literacy Support for Your Library Patrons
by Jen Giffin, MLIS, Communications Manager, NNLM All of Us Program Center (NAPC), University of Iowa
In celebration of Health Literacy Month, we’ll explore three health literacies common in library health programming—health literacy, digital literacy, and research literacy (addressed by participatory research, also known as citizen/community science programming)—and how increasing these literacies can help achieve health equity. We’ll connect you with resources from the NNLM and explore ways public libraries can support their communities by working with the NNLM and other reputable organizations.
The Intersection of Health and Digital Literacy
Many people turn to the Internet when looking for health information. Understanding where and how to find reputable health information is key to digital health literacy. Digital health literacy combines the skills of understanding and using health information (health literacy) with the ability to navigate the internet and use technology to find reliable information (digital literacy).
In recent years, digital literacy has shifted from referring only to acquiring skills and using technology to including digital thinking or identifying and protecting oneself from misinformation. Being part of the digitally literate population has become vital to being able to do anything from applying for a job to accessing healthcare information. Nevertheless, digital inequities exist, an area that libraries are experts in addressing.
According to the American Library Association (ALA), nearly 90 percent of libraries offer digital literacy training, and a significant majority support training related to using new technology devices (62 percent), safe online practices (57 percent), and social media use (56 percent) (American Library Association, 2020). It is vital to address these inequities as they are credited with a “potential to shape life chances in multiple ways” (Robinson et al., 2015, p. 570). Many of those life chances are related to health outcomes. Without digital literacy skills and the digital access necessary to access health information, forms, telehealth, and personal electronic health records, historically underserved populations (including racial and ethnic minorities, sexual and gender minorities, people with disabilities, and low-income demographics) will have health inequities that are perpetuated.
Libraries already provide digital access to many digital and health literacy training and programming programs, and NNLM is here to help!
The NNLM is dedicated to helping libraries pursue equity in these literacies and related research literacy. The NNLM recognizes capacity issues libraries face and constantly strives to supply free and relevant training, webinars, and trusted resources to help support your community and to find tested examples of programming you could mimic in your library.
Resources for Librarians
Telehealth 101: What libraries need to know
Discuss virtual telehealth access centers such as libraries and their potential impact on health equity in rural communities with Palmetto Connect: Fostering Digital Inclusion in Rural South Carolina
Health Literacy On Demand
See how Wisconsin Health Literacy is supporting digital health literacy in their state at wisconsinliteracy.org/healthliteracy
Learn more about digital inclusion from WebJunction
The National Digital Inclusion Alliance provides resources on access to technology at digitalinclusion.org
LibrariesTransform offers free toolkits on digital literacy and health literacy at ilovelibraries.org/librariestransform
You can also earn your Consumer Health Information Specialization by taking classes from NNLM to help improve your health literacy skills.
Resources to share with your patrons:
Get a Free Email Address
Avoid Scams and Phishing
Find Reliable Health Information Online: Website Detective
Use MedlinePlus to Find Reliable Health Information
Access online digital literacy skills at digitallearn.org
MedlinePlus offers guides to health web surfing and evaluating health information
The Public Library Association offers resources on digital literacy and tools for healthy communities
Research Literacy as Viewed as Participatory Science, Also Known as Citizen/Community Science
You may have heard of citizen or community science but may not know how to incorporate free programming in your library. Many organizations support data-sharing projects so that people all over the world can support research that is relevant to their communities. For example, SciStarter offers many programs, such as Globe at Night, where anyone with a cell phone or mobile device can record pictures and information about the stars and night sky in their neighborhood and share that information with the SciStarter database. Researchers then use this information to learn more about light pollution in different areas of the world and how that affects health. Anyone can be a researcher and make a difference in the health of their families, communities, and the world!
Are you interested in offering citizen/community science programming in your library but need help figuring out what to do? Download and use free participatory science guides for libraries and community partners, and access our Introduction to Citizen Science online course today!
Citizen/Community Science Resources for Librarians
Download our free citizen science guides for libraries and community partners at scistarter.org/nlm
Learn more about citizen science by taking our online Introduction to Citizen Science Online Course
See what NNLM is doing with Citizen Science and Crowdsourcing
Whether a public library is new to offering health, digital, and research literacy programming or already has a slate of programs scheduled, the NNLM can help strengthen library patrons’ digital health literacy skills.
Visit NNLM.gov for more!
This article includes summaries of portions of this author’s contribution to:
S. Acosta-Ramirez, J. Giffin, B. Thomas (2024). Digital Health Literacy Training and Citizen/Community Science Programming. In E. Vardell & D. Charbonneau (Eds.), Health Literacy and Libraries (pp. 289-305). Rowman & Littlefield.
Other Citations:
American Library Association. (2020). Digital Empowerment and America’s Libraries. https://www.ala.org/advocacy/sites/ala.org.advocacy/files/con- tent/access/Broadband_web_01-15-17.pdf.
Robinson, L., Cotten, S. R., Ono, H., Quan-Haase, A., Mesch, G., Chen, W., Schulz, J., Hale, T. M., & Stern, M. J. (2015). Digital inequalities and why they matter. Information Communication and Society, 18(5). https://doi.org /10.1080/1369118X.2015.1012532.
Stormacq, C., Van Den Broucke, S., & Wosinski, J. (2019). Does health literacy mediate the relationship between socioeconomic status and health disparities? Integrative review. Health Promotion International, 34(5), e1–e17. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/day062.
