PODelation

An essay written by Richard Crespo reminded me of where I would like to go with community health education.   After some great examples of collaborative virtual projects, Crespo wrote:

What intrigues me about online communities is that the characteristics of community participation and ownership they exemplify are also fundamental to community health. Community health practioners, however, have fallen behind in applying these principles in the virtual world. In a recent report, an expert panel convened by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended that public health officials should develop the idea of virtual community health promotion (7).

Citation:
Crespo R. Virtual community health promotion. Prev Chronic Dis. 2007 Jul [10-30-07]. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2007/jul/07_0043.htm.

Understanding the issues of health and science literacy is very important in my role as a community educator.  My passion is  new media, however I do recognize electronic health tools provide little value if the intended users lack the skills to effectively engage them.

I found an interesting article entitled, “eHealth Literacy: Essential Skills for Consumer Health in a Networked World“.   “Engaging with eHealth requires a skill set, or literacy, of its own.”  I found valuable the “Lily Model”, which presents a holistic approach to health promotion through new media and the web.

”The eHealth literacy model presented here is the first step in understanding what these skills are and how they relate to the use of information technology as a tool for health. The next step is to apply this model to everyday conditions of eHealth use—patient care, preventive medicine and health promotion, population-level health communication campaigns, and aiding health professionals in their work—and evaluate its applicability to consumer health informatics in general. Using this model, evaluation tools can be created and systems designed to ensure that there is a fit between eHealth technologies and the skills of intended users. By considering these fundamental skills, we open opportunities to create more relevant, user-friendly, and effective health resources to promote eHealth for all.”