Behind the Scenes

Librarians from UNC’s Health Sciences Library collaborated with YOUR HEALTH® in a number of different ways. Find out how here, and take a look at some of their recommended resources for consumers, health care providers, and other librarians!

Librarian Roles on YOUR HEALTH®
Librarian Experience, Skills, and Knowledge
What is Health Literacy?
Thoughts of a Supporting Librarian
Thoughts of the Physician Hosts
YOUR HEALTH® Awards
Tools for Consumers
Tools for Health Professionals
Tools for Librarians
Publications and Presentations
Acknowledgements

Librarian Roles on YOUR HEALTH®

  • Initial and continuing website design and support
  • Indexing blog posts to ensure that content can be found
  • Researching the Internet and medical databases for high-quality articles to augment what is discussed on the show (average of 12 links per show)

Librarian Experience, Skills, and Knowledge

  • Controlled vocabularies (a consistent labeling system for topics so one word or phrase pulls together all related information)
  • Indexing
  • Information organization
  • Expert searching
  • Information technology
  • Media design
  • Social networking
  • Cultural competency
  • Communication skills
  • Health literacy

What is Health Literacy?

Health literacy is the ability to understand your health, medical care, and overall wellness. However, research shows that many adults find health information hard to understand. Even when people have good access to health services, lack of information can make it difficult for patients and families to properly manage their health. JAMA Patient Page JAMA. 2011; 306 (10): 1158. doi:10.1001/jama.306.10.1158.

Thoughts of a Supporting Librarian

“YOUR HEALTH® is an opportunity for librarians to work with family physicians and other health care professionals to improve the knowledge and health of people either living in our communities or looking for health information on the Internet. We contribute to this project in many ways, but primarily as navigators of online health information. There is an unlimited amount of information about health online, but not all of it is helpful. Knowing what sources can be trusted and understanding the information provided can also be a challenge. We help by introducing listeners to reliable sources that answer specific questions from callers on the show. They can continue to explore these sources or return to them in the future to find answers to questions of their own. Listening to the questions asked on the show helps us, too. We learn more about what kind of information people want, and what matters most to them. Ultimately we believe that knowledge empowers people. It can make a difference in how well people understand their own health issues, cope with serious illnesses, and get the care they need.” — Karen Crowell, MLIS

Thoughts of the Physician Hosts

Interview with Dr. Adam Goldstein.
Interview with Dr. Cristy Page.

YOUR HEALTH® Awards

2014 UNC Chapel Hill University Research Day Award –  John Mark Bojanski. Awarded third place in the Humanities/Social Sciences category (juried) and third place overall by popular vote out of 79 posters, for Rebirth of a Radio Show Website Leads to New Roles and New Publicity for Librarians.

2013 Robert E. Bryan Public Service Award – Barbara Renner.  The Bryan award recognizes outstanding engagement and service to the state of North Carolina that is characterized by working in partnership with community members; inspiring and involving others and/or helping others to serve; responding to a practical problem, issue, or concern of the state; and working to assure the impact in the community is lasting. Barbara Renner received a 2013 Bryan Award for her leadership in UNC Health Sciences Library’s collaboration with YOUR HEALTH®.

Tools for Consumers

  • NC Health Info (English and Spanish): Links to web sites of quality health information in English & Spanish brought to you by UNC’s Health Sciences Library.
  • UNC HealthLink Nurse Advice Line 984-974-6302: A free service of UNC Health Care. HealthLink provides quick, easy access to the resources and expertise of our doctors and staff. If you are looking for information about UNC services and clinics for yourself or your family, HealthLink is available 24 hours/day to answer your questions.
  • MedlinePlus: Produced by the National Library of Medicine. Links to extensive information on diseases, conditions, and health. Also includes lists of hospitals and physicians, a medical encyclopedia, a tutorial on understanding medical words, health information in multiple languages, prescription and nonprescription drug information, health news, and links to clinical trials.

Tools for Health Professionals

Tools for Librarians

Publications and Presentations

Barbara Rochen Renner, Lee Richardson and Terri Ottosen. “Do a Consumer Health Radio Show and Blog Advance Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility?” Presented at IDEAL ’19: Advancing Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility in Libraries & Archives, August 6-7, 2019, Columbus, Ohio.

Richardson L, Renner BR, Ottosen T, Goldstein AO. (2019). “A Library and a Radio Show: The Story of a Successful Partnership at 10 years and Counting”, Journal of Library Administration, volume 59, number 4. [accepted for publication February 20, 2019, published online April 26, 2019]

Barbara Rochen Renner, Lee Richardson, Terri Ottosen, Adam O. Goldstein. “Unusual Partners for Health:  Healthcare Professionals and Librarians Partner to Communicate About Health Through Radio and Social Media.”  Presented at the Health Communication: Barriers, Breakthroughs, and Best Practices (HCB3) 2019 Online Health Communication Conference. February 25 – March 1, 2019, online.

Renner, B.R., Richardson, L.M. Evaluating a Consumer Health Website. A lightning presentation at the North Carolina Library Association Sections Virtual Conference, February 8, 2019, online.

Renner, B.R., Richardson, L.M., Ottosen, T., Ladd, R., Goldstein, A.O., and Lacy, L. A Library and a Radio Show: the Story of a Successful Partnership. A poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Library Association, June 24, 2018, New Orleans, LA.

Bojanski J.M., Renner, B.R., Crowell, K., and Ladd, R.  Rebirth of a Radio Show Website Leads to New Roles and New Publicity for Librarians.   A poster re-presented at University Research Day 2014, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, March 4, 2014, Chapel Hill, NC.

Bojanski J.M., Renner, B.R., Crowell, K., and Ladd, R.  Rebirth of a Radio Show Website Leads to New Roles and New Publicity for Librarians.   A poster presented at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Medical Library Association, October 14, 2013, Pittsburgh, PA.

Crowell, K., Renner, B.R., Ladd, R., Silbajoris, C., and Handler, L. (2013) “Listening to YOUR HEALTH:  Librarians and Physicians Collaborating On the Radio and Online.”  Journal of Hospital Librarianship, 13 (3), pp. 258-269.

McElfresh, K., B. Renner, and R. Ladd. On Air Locally – Online Globally: Evaluating WordPress Options for a Consumer Health Radio show Website. A Poster Presented at the 2013 Federated Conference, One HEALTH: Information in an Interdependent World, the 2013 Annual Meeting and Exhibition of the Medical Library Association (MLA í13), the 11th International Congress on Medical Librarianship (ICML), the 7th International Conference of Animal Health Information Specialists (ICAHIS), and the 6th International Clinical Librarian Conference (ICLC). May 3-8, 2013, Boston, MA.

Richardson, L., B. Renner, and R. Ladd. On the Air! Making the Content of a Consumer Health Radio show Accessible using a Blog Platform. A Poster Presented at the Association of College & Research Libraries Biannual Conference, April 10-13, 2013, Indianapolis, IN.

Richardson, L., B. Renner, and R. Ladd. Radio, Libraries, and Blogs, Oh My! Collaboration with Your Health Radio. Presented at the Regional LAUNC-CH 2013 Conference (Sponsored by the Librariansí Association at UNC-Chapel Hill), True Collaborations: Creating New Structures, Services and Breakthroughs. March 11th, 2013, Chapel Hill, NC.

Handler, L. Jan 2013. “On the Air! Using the Radio to Communicate about Health.” MLA News.

Handler, L., K. Crowell, B. Renner, C. Silbajoris, J. Blackwell, K. Crowell, and R. Ladd. On the Air! Librarians and Doctors using the Radio to Communicate with Listeners about Health. A Paper Presented at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the Medical Library Association, May 21, 2012, Seattle, WA.

Ladd, R. and B. Renner. Moving Forward Together: Two Game-Changing Collaborations. A Video Presented at the Annual Medical Library Association (MLA) 2012 Conference Leadership & Management Section Program, ìSmells Like Team Spirit.î May 21, 2012, Seattle, Washington (One of Three Peer Reviewed Selections).

Renner, B., R. Ladd, K. Crowell, and L. Richardson. On Air and Online! Librarians and Doctors using a Blog and the Radio to Communicate with Listeners about Health. A Poster Presented at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the Medical Library Association, May 22, 2012, Seattle, WA.

Goldstein, A., C. Page, and J. Steiner. YOUR HEALTH: A Multimedia Platform for Health Promotion. CDC National Conference on Health Communications, August 9, 2012, Atlanta, GA.

Handler, L., B. Renner, C. Silbajoris, J. Blackwell, K. Crowell, and R. Ladd. Capitalizing on our Strengths to Improve the Public’s Understanding of Health Information through the Radio. A Poster Presented at the 2011 Annual Meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Medical Library Association, October 11, 2011, Richmond, VA.

YOUR HEALTH Radio Celebrates 2 Years and 100 Shows.” UNC Healthcare Press Release, September 16, 2010.

Acknowledgements:

YOUR HEALTH® Radio Team
Hosts, Adam O. Goldstein, MD, MPH and Cristen P. Page, MD, MPH; Executive Producers, Laura Lacy, MPH (current), Daniel Lane (former), Erica Lloyd Nouri (former), and Julea Steiner, MPH (former); UNC Department of Family Medicine Director of Development and Communication, Brad S. Wilson and Production Assistants and Social Media Marketing Managers, Justin MacMahan, Katelyn Liu (former), Megan Lighthall (former).

Members of the UNC Health Sciences Library YOUR HEALTH® team
Barbara Rochen Renner, PhD,  Lee Richardson, MLIS, Terri Ottosen, MLIS, AHIP, Robert Ladd, MA, Jean Blackwell, MLS, AHIP (retired), Liza Cahoon MA, MLS, Karen Crowell, MLIS, Kathy Fujiwara, Lara Handler, MSLS, Christie Silbajoris, MSLS, Susan Swogger, MLIS, Sarah Towner Wright, MLS; Graduate Research Assistants, UNC School of Information and Library Science:  John Mark Bojanski, MSLS, Erica Brody, MPH, MSLS, Chana Kraus-Friedberg, PhD, MSLS, and Karen McElfresh, MSLS.

Other librarians and staff from the Health Sciences Library have contributed ideas and support.

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