Patients on the Web is a model program to increase access to health information in underserved communities. Funded by the Nathan Cummings Foundation, the program works through development and dissemination of an interactive, multi-media curriculum to teach patients from culturally diverse and socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds how to access and evaluate health-related information on the Internet.
The methods include working collaboratively with community-based organizations, focus groups to gain community input on curriculum development, use of small structured learning sessions, the availability of on-going tutorials through community members who have been trained as Internet Facilitators, and focused evaluation of participants through pre- and post-testing and a six month follow-up interview.
The course curriculum emphasizes use of the Internet to find quality information on targeted topics such as pregnancy, child nutrition and safety, and asthma. Participants are taught how to identify and recognize government and university websites with the most reliable information, how to evaluate information they find there, and how to discuss pertinent information with their healthcare providers. Through partnership with neighborhood sites with Internet access, participants are also provided with the means to access the Web on an on-going basis. The program also makes available information to a wider audience through posting of the curriculum and information on our website.
The impact of the program on promoting patient empowerment, sense of self as locus of control, and improved patient-physician communication will be discussed.
Learning Objectives: 1. Articulate the need to "bridge the digital divide" and provide access to health-related information on the Internet to members of underserved communities. 2. Assess key requirements of a web-based, interactive curriculum to teach patients how to access and evaluate health-related information on the Internet. 3. Prioritize new areas of growth for using Internet technologies to improve self-empowerment and access to quality care for patients from underserved communities.
Keywords: Internet Tools, Self-sufficiency and Empowerment
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
Disclosure not received
Relationship: Not Received.