Senior CHAT: Consumer Health
Awareness Training Based on
NIHSeniorHealth and MedlinePlus
Ladonna Guillot, Mary Lou Strong, Jean Caswell
Southeastern Louisiana University
South Central Chapter/Medical Library Association Annual Meeting
October 19, 2010
Senior CHAT: Consumer Health
Awareness Training
Project is funded by a
2010-2011 NN/LM SCR Express
Consumer Health Outreach
Award
Senior CHAT Program Objectives
• Improve health information literacy
• Promote better health outcomes
• Create portable health profiles
• Create a senior citizen consumer health
information LibGuide
• Teach basic computer and Internet skills
• Promote use of NIHSeniorHealth and
MedlinePlus
Community Assessment
• 86% of Louisiana parishes are designated health
professional shortage areas
• Louisiana is ranked 49th in the nation in health
status
• 11% of the Tangipahoa Parish population are 65
years or older
• 20% of Tangipahoa Parish senior citizens have
incomes below the federal poverty level
• Hurricane Katrina demonstrated need for portable
health records
Medically Underserved Areas
Target Population
• Persons 60 or older residing in
Tangipahoa Parish
• 1800 clients served by the Tangipahoa
Voluntary Council on Aging (TVCOA)
• TVCOA staff from the 5 parish senior
centers
Hammond Senior Center
Hammond Senior Center
Hammond Senior Center
Computer Lab
Summer 2010 - Basic Computer Class
• Pilot program
• Basic computer skills
• Basic Internet searching
• Evaluation of Internet sources
• E-mail
What We Learned
• Geaux slow
• Basic computer skills are essential
to success
• Mouse exercises
• Things you think are obvious are
not
• Handouts and hands-on are
important
What We Loved
• Extremely appreciative students
• Highly motivated students
• Seniors helped and encouraged
each other
• Waiting list of 75
TVCOA Staff Training Class
September 29, 2010
• NIHSeniorHealth Trainer’s Toolkit
• Instruction on NIHSeniorHealth and
MedlinePlus
• Evaluating health websites
• Staff serve as a long-term resource for
their clients
Senior CHAT Class
• Consumer health information
training using NIHSeniorHealth
Trainer’s Toolkit
• 6 week session to be offered twice
• Class of 25 filled immediately
• Will administer pre-test, post-test,
and 3rd test to assess impact
Preliminary Staff Training
Results (Pre/Post Test Surveys)
• Staff report more confidence in
finding reliable health information
on the Internet post-training
• Only one had used MedlinePlus
or NIHSeniorHealth prior to class
• 5/6 report they plan to use
databases frequently in the future
Senior Citizen Consumer Health
LibGuide
• Compilation of authoritative
consumer health information online
sites geared to senior citizens
• Accessible 24/7
• Visit the LibGuide at:
http://selu.libguides.com/seniorchat
Senior Citizen Consumer Health
LibGuide
Contact Information
• Ladonna Guillot
Health Sciences Librarian
lguillot@selu.edu
• Mary Lou Strong
Reference/Instruction Librarian
mary.strong@selu.edu
• Jean Caswell
Systems Librarian
jcaswell@selu.edu