Local goes global on the Internet:
New York Online Access to Health
Kristine Alpi, MLS
Samuel J. Wood Library
Weill Medical College of Cornell University
kma2002@med.cornell.edu
U.S. Hispanics Internet Use
Growth from 1998 to 2000

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At Home:
8.7% 16.1%
Outside Home:
10.0%  11.6%
Any Location:
16.6%  23.7%
13.6% of Hispanics using the Internet
outside home used it at the Public
Library (2000)
Source: U.S. Dept of Commerce. NTIA. 2000. Falling through the
Net: Towards Digital Inclusion.
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/fttn00/chartscontents.html
Primary Language and Location of
HON Survey Respondents

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Feb-Mar 2001 Health on the Net survey on
usage of the medical Internet
Spanish was primary language of 7.69% of
participants (n=2901)
Location (n=2951):

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South America – 3.9%
Mexico – 1.15%
Central America – 0.47%
Spain mixed with rest of Europe in data
Increase in Spanish-Language
Health Web Sites

New and updated government sites

www.healthfinder.gov/espanol
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re-released by HHS on 10/1/01
www.cdc.gov/spanish/default.htm
Rise and fall of commercial sites
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www.egalenia.com, www.tuotromedico.com,
www.salud.com
NOAH
www.noah-health.org
ENGLISH
SPANISH
NOAH Spanish Health Topics
Top Ten Causes of Death in
Hispanics for 1999 (prelim)
1.
2.
3.
4.
Heart Disease
Cancer
Injuries
Cerebrovascular
Disease
5. Diabetes
6. Chronic Liver Disease
7. Assault
8. Chronic Lower
Respiratory Disease
9. Pneumonia & Flu
10. Conditions originating
in Perinatal period
Source: Health. United States, 2001. Table 32.
Top Five NOAH Pages
Requested (2001)
Web Page Views 2/28
Web Page Views 8/31
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Stimulants Factsheet
Cancer
AIDS/HIV
Pregnancy
STDs
Stimulants Factsheet
AIDS/HIV
Sexuality
Cancer
Pregnancy
Subjects & Source Countries
of Spanish NOAH Questions
1. Cancer (7%)
2. Diabetes (6%)
3. Sexuality (6%)
4. Tied at 4%
- Pregnancy
- Neurological/
Neuromuscular Cond.
- Child Health
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Unknown (40%)
Argentina (21%)
Spain (17%)
Mexico (11%)
Colombia (6%)
48% of messages were solicitations
Source: Unpublished study of
NOAH messages (7/2-10/5/01)
Spanish-Language Sources
by Country (January 2000)
Spanish-Language Sources
by Type (January 2000)
Mining International Web Sites


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In 2000, searched US State Health Dept
web sites for Spanish Consumer Health
Info
Found 15 States with > 100 documents
Now it’s time to search the international
health agency web sites


Number and type of resources
Primary topics to be determined
Making NOAH Relevant for
Local and International Users

Clarify search engine requirements

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Drugs/Dosages depend on country

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Accents, Boolean (and/or) in English only
Do sites convert when translating?
Mine Spanish content buried in English
sites (RxList, MEDLINEplus)
Advocate for coverage of weak areas

Healthcare provider info, Genetics, etc…
Continuing Issues Beyond
Availability



Some problems are still with us…..
Cultural Appropriateness of Translations
Quality Control Issues

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Coding of diacritical marks
Unequal editing
Literacy Levels
Use of Images
Need Further Information?

Contact Info for NOAH


Visit NOAH on the web


noahweb@nyam.org
www.noah-health.org
Contact the Author: Kris Alpi

kalpi@att.net