Health Library News

  I nspired by   Health Information Week   we've created a new tutorial   10 steps to creating patient information . Here you'll get hints and tips on preparing health information for your patients. You'll learn about health literacy and how you can accommodate poor health literacy to make sure that your patients are well informed and can make good healthcare decisions. Try the tutorial now:  10 steps to creating patient information Need more help? You can find more etutorials on  our Information Skills eTutorials page . Contact the Health Library  if you need any help.

 We joined Health Information Week 2023 (3 rd to 9 th July) to let you know more about the resources you can use. Read our blog posts to develop your skills and find great resources to provide good quality patient education information. Did you know 53.4% of people in Stoke on Trent struggle to understand health information? That number rises to 72.3% of people who struggle to understand health information when it includes numbers. [source: http://healthliteracy.geodata.uk/ 2023] How do you communicate with your patients? How can you improve to support them? Read our blog posts to learn more. The key themes have been: Monday 3 July – Health Literacy: learn what health literacy is Tuesday 4 July – Mental Health and Wellbeing: get some great patient information resources Wednesday 5 July – Women’s Health: check our resources for patient information on women’s conditions Thursday 6 July – Social Prescribing: learn what social prescribing is Friday 7 July – Childre...

  This is the last day of Health Information Week and the theme is information for shared decision-making. What is shared decision making? Here are some resources to help you learn more about shared decision-making: NHS England guidance : Shared decision making requires skill from health professionals and most importantly a willingness to involve their patient in decisions about their care. Decision support tools [from NHS England], also called patient decision aids, support shared decision making by making treatment, care and support options explicit. Shared Decision Making [from the e-lfh) - free to access elearning resource provides guidance on what shared decision making is and how to implement it in practice. NICE guideline 197 covers how to make a shared decision-making part of everyday care in all healthcare settings. https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng197 Personalised care Institute - Decision support tools (also called ‘patient decision aids’) encourage pe...

 Today the theme for Health Information Week is cost of living Learn more about cost of living issues and how it impacts on health, to better support your patients. Learn more about the impact of the cost of living crisis From the Joseph Rowntree Foundation: UK Poverty 2023: The essential guide to understanding poverty in the UK From pandemic to cost of living crisis: low-income families in challenging times How is mental health affected by poverty? From the King’s Fund What are health inequalities? The cost-of-living crisis: is the nation’s health paying the price? [podcast] From the NHS Confederation The rising cost of living : The rising cost of living threatens to push households into vulnerable positions, increasing health inequalities and worsening health and wellbeing. Looking on the Internet for resources? You can search the Internet for resources to support patients – charities, professional royal colleges and patient support groups are good sour...

 Today the theme for Health Information Week is information for children’s health. Support your patients by giving them good quality, evidence-based patient information. Patient Information to support Children’s Health T ake a look at these popular websites: Patient Info - a wide range of topics about children’s health NHS - common health questions about children’s health You can find good quality patient information and leaflets from our library resources. BMJ Best Practice Patient Leaflets BMJ Best Practice is available to all NHS staff. You need to log in with your NHS OpenAthens username . You can download a variety of leaflets for your patients. Here are some examples of patient leaflets for conditions affecting children: Absence seizures in children Asthma in children: questions to ask Jaundice in newborn babies: what treatments work? Sepsis in children Clinical Key Patient Education Clinical Key is available to staff working at UHNM. Log in wi...

  Today you can learn about social prescribing. What is social prescribing? These resources will help you to understand what social prescribing is: Start with this short animation: Find out more from the National Academy for Social Prescribing . NHS England have a series of videos and written case studies featuring professionals and individuals on their experiences of social prescribing. You can see what it looks like in practice. You can learn more about social prescribing within the NHS and its impact on personalised care from the NHS England website. Read the in-depth explainer from The King’s Fund for more information. This document, Social prescribing: applying All Our Health , from the UK government explain how to promote social prescribing in healthcare practice. For information of what is happening locally check the Support Staffordshire website . Support Staffordshire work with local primary care groups to deliver social prescribing opportunities. ...

 Today’s theme for Health Information Week is information for women’s health. Patient Information to support Women’s Health Fr om the NHS, take a look at these websites: NHS: Endometriosis Overview NHS: Menopause NHS: Osteoporosis NHS overview of smear tests and cervical screening You can learn more about health issues that may affect trans-gender patients: Terrence Higgins Trust: Sex and sexual health for trans women and trans feminine people   The British Student Doctor: What all doctors should about trans health – a conversation between a medic and a sociologist   You can find good quality patient information and leaflets from our library resources. BMJ Best Practice Patient Leaflets BMJ Best Practice is available to all NHS staff. You need to log in with your NHS OpenAthens username . You can download a variety of leaflets for your patients. Here are some examples of patient leaflets for conditions that can affect women: Endometriosis: what ...

  Today the theme for Health Information Week is information for mental health and wellbeing. You can support your patients and provide them with good quality information whether they are coping with a mental health condition or need some wellbeing support. Patient Information to support Mental Health and Wellbeing Fr om the NHS, take a look at these websites: NHS: Better Health – Every Mind Matters : Advice and practical tips to help people look after their mental health and wellbeing. NHS: Mental Health : Information and support for mental health conditions. You can find good quality patient information and leaflets from our library resources. BMJ Best Practice Patient Leaflets BMJ Best Practice is available to all NHS staff. You need to log in with your NHS OpenAthens username . You can download a variety of leaflets for your patients. Here are some examples of patient leaflets for mental health conditions: Bipolar disorder: how can I avoid a relapse? Obsessi...

 Let’s kick off Health Information Week 2023 by looking at Health Literacy. Health Literacy is about individuals being able to understand health information such that they are empowered to make good health decisions and have positive health outcomes. You need to be aware of the issues that impact on patient health literacy and how you can accommodate them, in order to support your patients. 53.4% of people in Stoke on Trent struggle to understand health information. That number rises to 72.3% of people who struggle to understand health information when it includes numbers [ source: http://healthliteracy.geodata.uk/ 2023]. What can you do to make sure you are communicating effectively with your patients? Complete the short, online Health Literacy programme on the e-Learning for Health Hub (E-LfH). UHNM staff can also access the Health Literacy programme from the ESR. Learn more about health literacy and some techniques you can use when discussing health issues with patien...

  Did you know 53.4% of people in Stoke on Trent struggle to understand health information? That number rises to 72.3% of people who struggle to understand health information when it includes numbers. [ source: http://healthliteracy.geodata.uk/ 2023] How do you communicate with your patients? Can you improve what you do? Health Information Week 2023 is here to help, running from 3 rd to 9 th July. “Health Information Week is a national, multi-sector campaign promoting high-quality information for patients and the public. High quality health information can have a huge impact on people’s ability to stay healthy and manage illnesses effectively, giving them a better quality of life.” We’re going to be sharing lots of different resources with you, so that you can develop the right skills and provide great quality patient information to your patients. The key themes are: Monday 3 July – Health Literacy Tuesday 4 July – Mental Health and Wellbeing Wednesday 5 July – Wom...