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English, one level below transfer (i.e., eligibility for English composition (C-ID ENGL 100) and reading a course with an exiting skill of ability to read a college-level text.

Health information issues and standards

A. Health information key concepts

1. Sources of health information

a. Mass media (i.e., print, online, media campaigns, social media)

b. Health care professionals (i.e., physicians, health educators, nurses)

c. Social circle (i.e., friends and family)

d. Research (i.e., academic journal articles, government publications)

2. Types of health information

a. Individual (i.e., personal health readings: blood pressure, BMI)

b. Group (i.e., college health data: statistics about alcohol consumption)

c. Community (i.e., disease risk data: risk by geographic location, income)

B. Health literacy

1. National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy

2. HP2020 Health Communication and Health Information Technology Objectives

3. Population health

a. National Assessment of Adult Literacy

b. Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies

c. Barriers and facilitators

C. Information skill development

1. Information Literacy

a. Determine the nature and extent of the health information needed

b. Access health information effectively and efficiently (librarian as invited speaker)

c. Evaluate health information and its sources critically and incorporates selected information into his or her knowledge base and value system

d. Use health information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose Understand many of the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of health information and accesses and uses information ethically and legally

2. Information fluency and health

a. Communicate health information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats

b. Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media

c. Critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision making to:

i. Identify and define health problems and significant questions for investigation

ii. Collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions

d. Digital citizenship: Understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior

D. Media literacy and health

1. Media literacy and application to health information

2. Evaluate health information in the news

3. Marketing/advertising and personal health

Evaluating online health information

A. Sponsorship

1. Site sponsor information (About Us)

a. Identification of financial stakeholders

b. Visible contact information

c. The inclusion of professional credentials of experts

2. Author identification

a. Professional credentials

b. Description of background

3. Source type (.com, .gov, .edu)

B. Currency

1. Age of information

2. Date of latest website revision

C. Factual information

1. Clear content presentation

2. Content verifiable through identification of primary information sources

3. Credentials of information sources clearly stated

D. Identification of the target audience

1. Consumers

2. Professionals

3. students

Access health information systems

A. Measurements: Demography

1. Vital Statistics systems

a. Birth and death registration

b. Morbidity data

2. Health Status

a. International classification of disease classification (ICD)

b. Health status disparities

c. Social determinants of health

B. Methods: Data Collection

1. Health surveys

a. National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) pertaining to health status, access to care, health services utilization

b. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)

c. Youth Risk Behavior Factor Surveillance System (YRBSS)

d. National Health Care Survey (NHCS)

2. Nutrition surveys

a National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)

3. Health Resources and Outcome measures

a. Health Resources and Services Administration (HERSA)

b. HEDIS measures

4. Population surveillance

a. Public health surveillance

b. Compare populations and focus of risk factor data systems that support public health practice, trend analysis, and community health planning

c. Use data to educate the public, legislators, and health professionals

C. Public Health Informatics

1. Electronic information sharing and data exchange

2. Health information exchanges

3. Global healthcare information technology

4. Data aggregation to develop a multi-dimensional understanding of individual and community health status and vulnerabilities

5. Privacy

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Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

1. Use evidence to draw conclusions about etiology, benefits and harms as the basis for evidence-based recommendations. 

2. Use evidence to systematically describe and address health problems. 

3. Use evidence as the basis for evidence-based decision making. 

4. Discuss economic, legal, and social issues about health information. 

5. Identify sources of health information (e.g., mass media, health care organizations, health professionals, social circles, and research). 

6. Identify types of health information (e.g., individuals, groups, and community). 

7. Identify national standards, objectives, and assessment tools to improve health literacy; define barriers and attributes that facilitate health communication at the patient level. 

8. Describe human, cultural, and societal issues related to health information technology; identify and analyze relationship between digital citizenship and health literacy. 

9. Apply evidence-based thinking skills to identify and define health problems in order to determine the nature and extent of information needed. 

10. Demonstrate the ability to access information effectively and efficiently using library resources in order to investigate a problem. 

11. Demonstrate the ability to critically evaluate information and incorporate it into one’s knowledge base or value system. 

12. Identify website sponsorship, financial stakeholders, and state source type (.com, .gov, .edu), assess website currency, determine credentials of information sources and authors, identify the target audience, and determine if the message is appropriate for the type of audience (consumers vs. clinicians). 

13. Describe functions, locate, and demonstrate use of major national and global vital statistics, and systems which are used to determine health status and classify disease. 

14. Describe the functions, locate and demonstrate use of major domestic health, health care, and nutrition surveys, and population surveillance systems. 

15. Describe the functions, locate, and demonstrate use of both public health and population informatics and state their similarities and differences, tools, and applications.

May include:

Exams

Quizzes

Written Assignments

Projects

Osborne, H. Health Literacy from A to Z: Practical Ways to Communicate Your Health Message. Lake Placid, NY: Aviva Publishing.

OER

Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Health Literacy Basics. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/healthliteracy/learn/index.html

Health Resources & Services Administration.  Health Literacy.

Logan, R. A. & Siegel, E. R. (2020). Health Literacy in Clinical Practice and Public Health.  Google Books. 

Retrieved from https://www.google.com/books/edition/Health_Literacy_in_Clinical_Practice_and/DpP-DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=health+literacy&printsec=frontcover