Note
From the Chair
Message
From The Chair
By
Eris Weaver
Ah,
summer...the feel of sun on bare skin, the smell of chicken on the barbecue,
the sound of the gavel passing...Huh. Yes, this is the time of year
when our section leadership changes, officially beginning at the end
of the MLA Annual Meeting.
Many
thanks are due to Naomi Broering as
she ends her year as CAPHIS chair and transitions to chair of the Nominating
Committee. Naomi pulled together a wonderful reception for CAPHIS members
at the Annual Meeting, sponsored by SwetsBlackwell.
We enjoyed food, beverages, and music along with the chance to chat
and unwind with other members. (Thanks again, Naomi!) Those who attended
also got one of our nifty new CAPHIS buttons - if you'd like one, contact
me or membership chair Deb Batey.
I
personally breathed a sigh of relief at the end of the meeting as my
year as program chair ended. Our three programs were well-attended,
and you can read more about those sessions elsewhere in this issue.
Joy Kennedy has already begun the planning
process for next year's Annual Meeting in El Paso,
Texas. I can already tell that she's
going to do a dynamite job.
During
the course of our executive committee and section business meetings,
several plans and goals for the coming year were discussed. Among them
are a re-design of the CAPHIS website and a change in our bylaws. (Did
you know that our website, especially our Top 100 list, is one of the
highest-traffic sections of the MLA website.) The proposed bylaws change is necessary to bring
our election procedures and bylaws into agreement; you'll be hearing
more about that later in the year.
One
of the first things MLA requires of me in my year as section chair is
the submission of a budget and a list of goals. In order to do this
job well, I need to hear from you. I can certainly sit in my office
and devise a list of the things I'd like to see CAPHIS do over the next
year, but this is you organization. What are the things that you most
appreciate about CAPHIS? What could we be doing better? If you've ever
thought, "Why doesn't CAPHIS do __________?",
let me know and let's see if we can do it. Email me at erisw@phcd.org
or give me a call at 707-778-9114. A small number of members do an amazing
amount of work to create and maintain all of the programs and projects
- the listserv, this newsletter, our website, the Annual Meeting, etc.
- that benefit us all. If you've never participated in a committee before,
let this be the year you try! Check out the committee participation
form at http://caphis.mlanet.org/activities/caphis_serve_form.html
and get involved!
CAPHIS kudos
CAPHIS sends a huge Thank
you to Swets for hosting our reception during
the MLA Annual Meeting in Washington,
DC.
Susan
Murray, past, past chair of CAPHIS, will be on the MLA ballot for the
MLA nominating committee. We would like to encourage all CAPHIS members
to support Susan in her bid.
Articles
From the 2004 MLA Annual
Meeting in Washington, D.C.
Program
Reviews
By
Joan Appleton Costanza, Consumer Health
Librarian, PinnacleHealth, Harrisburg,
PA
On
Sunday, May 23, CAPHIS hosted, “Power in the Trenches.”
Jo-Ann Benedetti started
the session on an informal note by coming down into the audience shoeless.
She talked about her library, Crandall Public Library in Glens
Falls, NY, which recently
received $93,000 to update their consumer health collection.
She described the changing
world of patient care, where managed care forces patients to make more
decisions on their own. She got us to see her patrons as she sees them
-- sometimes scared, and not always sure what the doctor said or how
to spell either the diagnosis or the prescription.
She pleaded for medical librarians
not to discount their public library colleagues, and said the vast majority
of public library staff would be grateful for our collaboration.
Barbara
Bibel, also a public librarian (Oakland Public Library, CA), talked about
her wonderfully diverse patrons, from immigrants trying to get drivers'
licenses to a person who showed up with a bagful of pills hoping for
help in identifying them. She also spoke about "people
whose reality is different" and the need to give them the best
health information possible. Her library collection not confined to
English; French, Spanish, and Russian materials are also popular.
She, too, encouraged collaboration
between consumer health and public librarians, and gave a local example.
Since their local Kaiser Permanente center has no librarian on staff,
they donate videos to the public library and Barbara in turn evaluates
their collection.
Pat Hammond gave a PowerPoint
presentation about her library (Community
Health Education
Center [CHEC] of VA Commonwealth
University Health System). CHEK was funded in 2000 and opened two years
laters. Patrons range from preschoolers to senior citizens,
with as wide a range of reading levels. Her staff includes one .75
FTE librarian and 13 volunteers, for whose sheduling
and training she is responsible. One valuable training tool she uses
is a health literacy toolkit.
Pat’s marketing is three-pronged,
focuing on health care providers, the community
at large, and patients via their website. Five color-coordinated PR
pieces enhance CHEC's outreach.
Joy Kennedy's
PowerPoint discussed recruiting and working with volunteers. She suggested
contacting your local AARP chapter for leads because of their volunteer
matching program [au. note; see http://community.aarp.org/rp-volunteer/].
Joy suggested using unemployed
persons as volunteers, who may have exactly the talents you need. You
have something they can use, also -- a positive letter of recommendation
or several lines on their resume proving they did something worthwhile
with their time while between jobs. One thing Joy brought up that is
rarely considered when working with volunteers is the issue of workman's
comp liability.
As a first time MLA attendee,
I appreciated the diversity of the panel and the different approaches
they took to solve daily challenges.
There seemed to be a consensus
that reaching out (in person whenever possible) to an often overwhelmed
and stressed public library staff can potentially create positive partnerships.
Start with the front line people, and stress what you can do for them,
whether it's holding a health-related event in the public library or
offering to help them weed their medical collections. Offer to attend
one of their local PLA meetings if possible.
Finally, someone mentioned
that two articles on CHI were coming up in future issues of Library
Trends. [au. note; as per http://alexia.lis.uiuc.edu/puboff/catalog/trends/issues.html,
the citations are: Consumer Health
Information Services, Part I, Edited by Tammy Mays, 53(2), Fall
2004 Consumer Health Information Services, Part II, Edited by
Tammy Mays, 53(3), Winter 2005]
On Monday, May 24, CAPHIS
hosted “The Power of Collaboration” featured four presenters demonstrating
how partnerships between different groups can further consumer health
library outreach.
Deb Silverman and colleagues,
from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, partnered with the Allegheny
County Library Association, a federation of 44 independent library/library
systems, to help develop and coordinate a core list of consumer health
titles and distribute material to select Allegheny public libraries.
This project was made possible by a Shadyside Hospital Foundation (Pittsburgh)
grant awarded to UPMC librarians. The stated purpose of the grant was
to: 1) “improve access to consumer health information in the community,”
and 2) “continue to promote public libraries as the libraries of first
resort for health information.
Mary McKeon Blanchard, Boston
University Medical
School library, presented
“A public-private partnership to improve the health-related information-seeking
skills of mental health consumers and staff.” In this three year $338,000
NLM Information Systems grant, the Boston University Medical Library
partnered with the Department of Mental Health to supply computer and
networking equipment, and internet access to mental health staff and
patients. Librarians also developed and implemented information skill
training and developed a web site to meet the specific needs of the
local mental health department. Major challenges to this project included
maintaining computing and networking equipment, and staff turnover and
layoffs at the DMH resulting in loss of project contacts.
Judy Rieke,
University of North Dakota, Library of the Health Sciences, discussed
her library’s collaboration with the “five tribal college librarians
serving North Dakota’s
Indian Reservations.” The four objects of this project were to train,
in collaboration with the tribal college librarians, Native American
health care consumers and providers in locating health information;
develop a web page promoting select NLM search tools; provide access
to the Gale Groups “Health and Wellness
Resource Center;”
and place computer equipment in tribal college libraries. All goals
were met as services were marketed to the appropriate community. This
project was made possible from an “Access to Electronic Health Information
for the Public,” subcontract awarded the National Network of Libraries
of Medicine/Greater Midwest Region.
Julia Sollenberger,
Director Health Science Libraries and Technologies, University of Rochester
Medical Center, discussed “From Handouts to Hard Dollars: sustaining
projects with collaboration and partnerships.” Julia discussed the value
of business and project planning and the steps involved in creating
such plans.
CAPHIS
Business Meeting
Sunday,
May 23, 2004, 4:00 pm
Minutes
taken by hand at meeting; typed Sunday, June 13th, 2003.
Jennifer
Friedman, CAPHIS Secretary
Running count of those entering
the room reached 50 by the end of the meeting.
Introductions
of officers.
Michele Spatz moved we leave
2003 business mtg. minutes unchanged. Deborah Batey
second; passed unanimously.
Programs: Eris Weaver noted
75 people attended the CAPHIS-sponsored program just before the business
meeting. Please contact Joy Kennedy,
CAPHIS program chair for our 2005 meeting, to help with programming.
Joy is also our new incoming Chair-Elect.
Secretary: We have discovered
that if the Sec'y has no institutional support due to joblessness, the
production/mailing of ballots costs amount to over $300. Jennifer
Friedman has been reimbursed for costs for the past
election.
Treasurer: Marge Kars
said we are doing well and presented some figures.
Section Council: Javier Crespo
reported that costs for AHIP credentialing are going up to $175/year.
The 2004 MLA Annual Meeting had 59 papers, 39 invited speakers, and
1 student presentation. Eris Weaver noteed
that out of 99 presentations, 12 of them were sponsored by CAPHIS.
There has been a proposal to change the MLA membership year to coincide
more closely with the conference year, to avoid pre-conference 5-month
membership lapses. A ballot with Section Council nominees was circulated
around the room and the executive committee voted for 5 candidates (our
nominee, Susan Murray, is a given)
Consumer Connections: Howard
Fuller noted that CC became a quarterly publication in 2004. "Health
Librarian on the Street," an irregular column, debuted. Barbara
Bibel is looking for book reviewers; watch for solicitations
on the CAPHIS discussion group (formerly the listserv).
Bylaws: David Duggar
was not present.
Government Issues Rep/Webmaster:
Kay Hogan has done a great job. Kudos to Kay.
Website Top 100 Committee:
Roz Dudden is looking for a replacement to head this committee.
Website Committee: Michele
Spatz is looking for contributions to the website. Christie Silbajoris
will be replacing Michele as head of this committee when Michele steps
down. Website re-design is the next priority.
CAPHIS discussion group (formerly
the listserv) database: Stephanie Weldon has the database indexing CAPHIS
listserv posts up and running. It is available at http://www.nnlm.gov/mcr/chid . Individuals
can add info easily. Stephanie would like members to help out and make
the database more robust.
New Business:
MLA Program 2005 suggestions:
The theme for 2005 will be
"Futuro Mágnifico:
Celebrating Our Diversity". The five tracks will be:
·
Education/outreach
·
Clinical
·
Research
·
Technology
·
Diversity
Some ideas include:
·
Problem patrons: our role as counselor
·
Cultural communication styles
·
Something publicizing GoLocal
·
Something having to do with bringing multimedia/distance
ed. programs to rural/diverse populations
·
"Taking it to the next level": measurements,
outcomes, evaluation
There was a short discussion
of resources that might be called on for the latter idea. Michele Spatz
took the opportunity to plug MLA's benchmarking activities and reminded
everyone that benchmarking is for all MLA members. This year's survey
on the MLA webpage is designed for all types of libraries, not just
hospital-based as in the past.
A vote is taken on our three
CAPHIS programs for 2005. They will be:
1. Problem patrons (14 votes)
2. Cultural communication styles (17
votes)
3. "Taking it to the next level":
measurement/outcomes (20 votes)
Naomi reminded us to contact
Eris and Joy with offers to help out or leads on speakers.
Bylaws change: Several have
noted that the election process is costly because CAPHIS bylaws specify
that we must mail ballots (they cannot be e-mailed, etc. to members).
Time is also an issue in mailing. There is a March 1 deadline for all
section elections to be finished. We did not hit that this year. Also,
our bylaws require multiple-slate elections, which we do not normally
have, and it is not necessarily important that we do.
Howard Fuller explained the
two changes that would need to be made in the bylaws to change these
two problems:
1. Language would need to be changed
to allow single-slate elections.
2. Language would need to be changed
to allow ballots to be sent to members using alternative formats (e-mail,
web, etc.).
The soonest we could vote
on the possible bylaws changes is next years Annual Meeting, as our
bylaws require 30 days notice (by U.S. mail) before ratifying proposed
changes. There were some stabs at draft proposals and we will probably
include the bylaws change proposal in the ballot mailing in 2005.
Electronic forum: Karen Vargas
from the NNLM office in Houston
suggested a potential electronic forum on the theme of outreach in consumer
health. This would be a way to bring health professionals and consumer
health librarians together. Karen will post to the CAPHIS list to see
if there is any interest.
Naomi thanked us all and
handed the invisible gavel over to Eris. Naomi will be the nominating
chair next year.
Naomi Miller from MedlinePlus
at the National Library of Medicine presented a MedlinePlus
update. It's official, the spelling/format
of the name of this resource is "MedlinePlus" (no italics, no additional capital letters).
Meeting adjourned.
Book
Reviews
Clarke,
Rebecca A., et al. A Women’s Guide to Living with HIV Infection.
The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004. 288 p. index. ISBN 0-8018-7914-0 (paperback). $15.95.
ISBN 0-8018-7913-2 (hardcover). $45.00.
A collaboration
between three clinicians and professors in HIV, Ob/Gyn
and Psychology from Louisiana
State University
Health Sciences
Center, A Women’s Guide
to Living with HIV Infection is a clearly written, comforting guide
for women newly diagnosed with HIV. The book’s purpose is “to help
women avoid HIV related complications like sickness, sadness and confusion”
and reassures readers “that there are no silly questions or concerns.”
The authors address a comprehensive range of health, therapeutic, emotional
and financial issues facing those with HIV, with chapters focusing on
specific concerns to women, including gynecologic disorders, menstruation,
pregnancy and domestic violence. Each chapter begins with key questions
and ends with key points. Useful features include price ranges for
over-the-counter treatments, providing both brand and generic names of medications, a list of centers
that provide sperm washing (for women who want to conceive with an HIV
positive partner), information about ongoing research and a glossary.
A section on explaining HIV to children includes approaches by child’s
age and level of understanding, and charts show side effects of medications
searchable by both side effect and medication. The book seems like
a friendly counselor reassuring the reader (“a TB test is a quick and
tiny pinprick, not a big needle”) and fill’s a niche in Women’s Health
and HIV information. Highly recommended for consumer health collections.
Cara Helfner,
Program Manager, The Michele and Howard Kessler Health Education Library,
Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston,
MA
Weissbluth,
Marc. Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child: a Step-by-Step Program
for a Good Night’s Sleep, rev. ed. Ballantine
Books, 2003, 492p. Index and Bibliographic References. ISBN
0-449-00402-3 (ISBN from the 1999 edition). $13.95
This is the revised and expanded
version of Dr. Weissbluth’s 1987 and 1999 publications. This board certified
physician’s resume is extensive, including both popular books and professional
journal articles on children and sleep.
Part I—How Children Sleep—includes
descriptions of healthy sleep and optimal wakefulness. Dr. Weissbluth emphasizes the health of the family in relationship
to children’s sleep cycles. Coverage of prevention and treatment of
sleep problems is comprehensive. Quite a bit of scientific and statistical
data is included.
Part II—How Parents Can Help
Their Children Establish Healthy Sleep Habits: You Can Prevent Sleep
Disturbances from Infancy to Adolesence—provides specific advice for individual age groups.
Part
III—Other Sleep Disturbances and Concerns—covers a wide range of medical,
psychological, and event-connected issues which may impact sleep.
Sprinkled throughout the
book are highlighted sections--Practical Points, Q & A, Personal
Accounts, and Action Plans. The reading level was relatively high.
The book includes so much information in so many formats. A high-school
reading level might be necessary to fully comprehend this book. There
is some repetition and the flow of information is on occasion awkward.
References from peer-reviewed journals were listed at the end of the
book. These have been recently updated. The index was unavailable
at the time of review.
The importance of healthy
sleep to each child and their family is especially important our times.
Providing advice to parents based on scientific evidence is commendable.
This book may be difficult for some to comprehend, based on its reading
level, length, and somewhat muddled writing style.
Linda King, MLS, AHIP, Gibson
D. Lewis Health Science Library, University of North Texas Health Science
Center, Fort Worth, Texas
Byun, Michael; Mendelsohn, Jon, Truswell,
William. The Non-Surgical Facelift Book
Addicus Books,
2003. 149 p. index. ISBN 1-886039-63-1. $19.95.
Ok,
I have to begin with a disclosure: Even though this book focuses on
noninvasive therapies, it is not a do-it-yourself text (when I first
saw the title, I dreamed of quiet evenings in my own home soaking in
the tub and sticking cucumbers to my eyes – alas). What readers will
find is consumer-friendly information on several techniques ranging
from chemical peels to lip augmentation, most of which do not require
any substantial incisions or inpatient time at the hospital. The therapies
discussed are botox injections, chemical peels, laser skin treatments (including
hair removal), microdermabrasion, fillers: injections and implants, and lip augmentation.
The
number of treatments explained, and the depth of their descriptions
are the book’s strong points. Each chapter supplies more information
than you would expect to find in a comparable article in a popular magazine.
Each chapter focusing on a therapy discusses how the treatment works,
the affects of aging it targets, how to prepare for treatment, the risks
involved, and how long the treatment’s effects will last. There are
also useful questions to ask your doctor that are relevant to each treatment,
and “before and after” pictures of patients who have received a given
treatment. There are also pertinent chapters addressing skin anatomy,
selecting a physician, general follow-up care, a substantial glossary,
and a list of mainly professional organizations in the “Resources” section.
The
Non-Surgical Facelift Book is written in a frank, engaging, and
completely non-condescending tone. Let’s face it, this is a sensitive
issue for many women and men; I found nothing that I thought could be
interpreted as insulting. Even though I was hoping to find some self-applied
treatments, I am actually considering talking to my doctor about some
of these therapies. Each of the three authors is a plastic surgeon
(Mendelsohn and Truswell
are facial plastic surgeons) and is board-certified by a relevant American
Board.
Liz
Workman, M.L.I.S., Hope Fox Eccles Clinical Library, Salt Lake City,
UT
Rako,
Susan M.D., No More Periods?,
Harmony Books, 2003, 179p index. ISBN 1-4000-4503-7 $21.00
No more periods – sounds
like heaven doesn’t it? For women like myself,
this could mean an end to the painful suffering we endure during our
menses. For others who don’t really suffer, just the mere convenience
of no longer having a period could bring women running to their gynecologists.
However, are the risks of this convenience really worth it? Low-dose
birth control pills are risky enough, and the “shot” carries even greater
risks, making contraception through hormonal manipulation an extremely
risky business. Risks including decreased sexual function/desire, increased
risk of cervical cancer, early onset of osteoporosis,
stroke, and increased risk of sexually transmitted diseases are certainly
more worrisome than the convenience that contraception through hormonal
manipulation brings.
This book should be read
by any woman who is considering or is already using birth control through
hormonal manipulation, be it birth control pills or the “shot”, for
any reason. Susan Rako
is an expert in the field of women’s hormonal health and is an advocate
for women’s health rights. She has carefully laid out the risks of
birth control through hormonal manipulation. She provides numerous
references to back up her claims. She also quotes many stories from
women who have written in to the Museum
of Menstruation and Women’s
Health Website.
Reviewed by Tillie Horak,
Harrison Medical
Library, Johns Hopkins
Bayview Medical
Center, Baltimore, MD.
Wilkoff,
Will. How to Say No to Your Toddler.
Broadway Books, 2003. 222
p. index. ISBN: 0767912748. (approx)
$12.00
This book is intended for
first-time parents to help them create an effective discipline plan
as their child moves from being cute and immobile, to exploring the
world. The author is a pediatrician with more than 25 years’ experience
and has written three other books for parents of preschoolers. The
author states that he intended this book to be read in two or three
45-minute sessions. This is an optimistic promise: the book will take
any thoughtful reader considerably longer than that to digest.
Wilkoff’s
major themes are that toddlers can’t behave well, and parents will have
more trouble being consistent, if they are overtired; how to distinguish
unsafe behavior from just annoying behavior; and how to use “No” effectively.
There is much good information here, however the organization of the material could be better.
All to often he refers to a later chapter to
explain a technique. Discussion on behavior and techniques would have
been better if they followed the same order as they usually occur in
toddler behavior.
The reading level is about
10th grade, and all the techniques are explained simply and
fully. This book is not an essential purchase, but is a good value
for the price.
Review by Kate Smith, MLS,
Family Health Library, The Children’s Hospital, Denver, CO
Benedet,
Rosalind. After Mastectomy: Healing Physically and Emotionally.
Addicus Books, 2003. 159p. index. ISBN 1886039615. $14.95
(paperback).
Aptly titled, After Mastectomy, provides a wealth of information for the post-mastectomy
patient. Issues covered include recovery from surgery, the importance
of exercise and nutrition, guidelines for choosing the proper breast
forms and undergarments, and what to expect from radiation therapy,
hormonal therapy and chemotherapy. Other important issues discussed
are breast reconstruction options and recovery, as well as an explanation
of lymphedema and follow-up care. Appendices include a glossary
of medical terminology associated with breast cancer and a listing of
organizations that provide support and information. As the subtitle
indicates, this book also deals with the emotional recovery that must
ultimately take place before the patient is “fully cured.”
Large type and clear language
make this book accessible to all readers. The author of this practical
guide is an experienced oncology nurse who is currently director of
the Breast Cancer Recovery Program at the California
Pacific Medical
Center’s Breast
Health Center
in San Francisco. This reasonably
priced resource is a “must-have” for consumer health libraries and public
libraries with a consumer health section.
Dee Jones, LSU
Health Sciences
Center, Medical Library,
Shreveport, LA
Volkmar,
Fred L. and Wiesner, Lisa. Topics
in Autism. Healthcare for Children on the Autism
Spectrum: A Guide to Medical, Nutritional, and Behavioral Issues.
Woodbine House, 2004376 p. index. ISBN 0-933149-87-2
This
book presents a wealth of information about autism, and autism related
disorders, among them Rett's disorder and
Asperger's Syndrome. The sixteen chapters in this book cover
every aspect of healthcare for a child with autism beginning with Chapter
1: Autism and Related Conditions: An Overview. The chapters are text-rich
with tables or important text boxed and shaded in gray. Each chapter
contains a question and answer section that includes questions that
parents have asked and the answers the author's have provided. It's
these question and answer sections that I believe make this book readable
and an important resource. The book contains an excellent resource
list of organizations and web pages, a glossary and a reading list of
valuable books and journal articles for parents and healthcare providers.
The reading grade level of this book is 9.g Flesch-Kincaid.
If
you are not familiar with Woodbine House books about children with special
needs, this book is an excellent introduction.
Dr.
Fred Volkmar is a child psychiatrist whose
work and research is focused on autism. Dr. Lisa Wiesner is a pediatrician who treats children with autism
in her practice. The authors bring their combined experience and knowledge
together in this excellent resource. This book is highly recommended.
Marge
Kars AHIP, Manager, Bronson Health Sciences
Library and HealthAnswers,
Bronson
Methodist Hospital,
Kalamazoo, MI
The
Merck Manual of Health and Aging. Mark
H. Beers, M.D., editor-in-chief. Merck Research Laboratories/ Simon & Schuster, 2004. 992p. illus. index. $29.95. (0-911910-36-0).
The Merck Manual of Diagnosis
and Therapy is one of the most popular medical reference sources.
When a lay version, The Merck Manual of Medical Information-Home
Edition, appeared in 1997, it became a best seller. As
our population ages, information about the aging process and caring
for the elderly is a necessity. The Merck Manual of Health
& Aging, a lay version of The Merck Manual of Geriatrics,
provides it in a very accessible format.
The book has four sections.
The first covers the fundamentals of aging. Interesting questions such
as when does a person become old and why does the body change as well
as discussions of how aging affects the organs and systems will help
readers understand the aging process. Related issues such as finances,
living arrangements and coping with chronic disease and disability appear
also. Section two deals with caregiving. There are discussions of preventive medical
care, nutrition, continuity of care, long-term care, and palliative
and end-of-life care. Important information about communicating with
health care practitioners, understanding medical tests, how drugs affect
older people, hospital and surgical care and rehabilitation will empower
older patients and those that assist them. Section three covers specific
medical conditions that are more common in the elderly: falls,
sleep problems, movement disorders, heart disorders, cancers, etc. A
chapter on the importance of exercise with recommendations for those
with specific diseases is very useful. The last section on social, legal,
and ethical issues provides vital information on coping with change,
making the decision to stop driving, intimacy, mistreatment of the elderly,
and paying for health care. A chapter explaining informed consent, confidentiality,
capacity and competency, and advance directives will help people prepare
for medical treatment. Two appendices cover the generic and trade names
of drugs commonly prescribed for seniors and a referral list of organizations.
Charts and sidebars offer useful supplemental information. A series
of 26 essays by seniors, accompanied by photographs of the authors are
scattered throughout the book. The authors share their feeling and insights
about aging. Universal themes include the importance of staying physically
and mentally active and sharing their knowledge and skills with others.
Maurice Sendak’s self-portrait as a 75-year-old Wild Thing serves
as an introduction.
The Merck Manual of Health
& Aging is unique because it focuses on how disorders are different
in older adults, rather than discussing all aspects of a disease. It
also emphasizes adapting to the bodily changes of aging and finding
effective ways to cope. It is reasonably priced and belongs in all public,
medical, and consumer health libraries.
Johnson,
T. Scott, M.D., William Alexander Broughton, M.D. and Jerry Halberstadt.
Sleep Apnea: Phantom of the Night, 3rd Ed rev.
New Technology Publishing, Inc., 2003. 310p. illus.
Index. ISBN 1-882431-05-7 $40.00.
Originally published in 1993
as Phantom of the night: overcome sleep apnea syndrome and snoring;
win your struggle to breathe, sleep and live, the new edition maintains
that sleep disorders have still not been fully integrated into public
awareness or the teaching and practice of medicine. Sleep problems
and disorders affect 50-70 million Americans and have major impacts
on health and well being. The authors include both the Director and
a former Director of the Sleep
Disorders Center,
University of South
Alabama - Kirkwood
and a sufferer of sleep apnea syndrome. This book details the results
of research in sleep disorders medicine on the treatment of sleep apnea
syndrome. It is a clear detailed, useful guide for the patient.
Entries
on sleep apnea include chapters on good sleep, breathing, testing and
recovery. Excellent detailed appendixes include sections on treatment,
a sleep log, a quiz to identify sleep apnea syndrome, and sections on
equipment and accessories, oral appliances, and directories of organizations
and manufacturers.
This new edition is written
to educate sufferers of sleep apnea. While it covers many technical
topics it also contains current easily understood information in its
bibliography, Internet links, and reference section. It is an excellent
addition to public and consumer health libraries.
Review by: Lora V. Gault, Purdue University
Calumet, Hammond,
IN
Additional information about
the book, including excerpts, illustrations, table of contents, introduction,
and information about the authors can be found at: http://www.healthyresources.com/sleep/apnea/phantom/index.html.
Cornog,
Martha. The BIG Book of Masturbation: From Angst to Zeal,
2003. 335p. index. ISBN 0-940208-29-6. $22.00.
Beyond
the catchy title, this is a rather unique look at a taboo subject that
captures many societal views on masturbation. Unlike the majority of
books on the subject, it is not a how-to promising sexual fulfillment,
nor is it merely a history of the subject. Instead, it's an encyclopedic
look at masturbation embracing many disciplines: language, history,
biology, anthropology, evolution, sociology, psychology, law, philosophy,
religion, education, sexology, literature, and humor. Other aspects
include today's news, popular culture, online world, promoting safe
sex, benefiting health, and changing sex practices.
The
breadth of the work is natural, given that the author has written several
articles related to sexuality materials in libraries. She also co-edited
Libraries, Erotica, & Pornography (1991), which won the American
Library Association's Eli M. Oboler Award for Intellectual Freedom in
1992. Her M.S. in Library Science and M.A. in Linguistics have been
put to good use in providing such a wide-ranging look at a difficult
subject.
The
book is written from an academic yet sensitive standpoint, but because
it embraces so many fields the author does not rely too much on jargon.
Terms are well-defined both in the text and with the accompanying glossary.
An extensive bibliography is also included for further study.
This
book forces the reader to think about his or her own views on masturbation
and promotes discussion. It would therefore make an excellent addition
to an academic, public, or consumer health collection.
Reviewed
by Elisabeth E. Rowan, Shriners Hospital
for Children, Lexington, Kentucky
Spath
PL (ed). Partnering with Patients to Reduce Medical Errors. Chicago;
Health Forum Inc., 2004. (ISBN 1-55648-314-7)
Patient-centered care is
one of the six aims outlined by the IOM in 2001 as being a key driver
to improve the safety and quality of heath care. 1) Spath,
a healthcare writer and editor with a notable set of books to her credit,
has brought together a multidisciplinary set of authors to provide insight
and knowledge to help practitioners work toward a patient-centered approach
to care. The essays and tools compiled here represent experience form
both the front line and administrative side of medicine—opinions and
know-how that are all needed to make sustainable change in any portion
of the safe care continuum.
Partnering with Patients
to Reduce Medical Errors provides strategies and techniques that
can be used to encourage patients to embrace more engaged role in their
own safe care. It aims to facilitate a dialogue between clinicians and
patients to support a deeper involvement in their own care. It provides
stories from patients to underscore the importance of the patient-centered
approach, discussions that related to the legal issues involved in patient
involvement, and leadership strategies to establish a culture that supports
a new and open relationship between clinicians, hospitals and the patients
they serve. The book closes with a case study from a hospital that has
had success in its patient-involvement initiative.
Unfortunately, in all that
is good here on helping empower patients with information, librarians
are not mentioned as partners or even as resources. Spath
is not alone in this omission, which begs the question of the library
profession’s advocacy of their own distinct role in patient safety by
helping patients obtain the best information to empower them as players
in their own safe care.
Nonetheless, the book is
unique in its approach to addressing the process for implementing patient
centered care, and should be available to both patients and practitioners
alike to help drive needed improvement in this area.
1) Crossing the Quality
Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century, Washington
DC; National
Academy Press 2001
Lorri Zipperer,
Cybrarian, Zipperer Project Management, Evanston,
IL, lorri@zpm1.com
www.zpm1.com
Giller
CA. Port
in the Storm: How to Make a Medical Decision and Live to Tell About
It: A Practical Guide for Those Facing Medical Decisions for Themselves
or Their Loved Ones. Washington DC; Lifeline Press. 2004. ISBN 0-89526-132-4
It is easy to be overwhelmed
by the thought of a healthcare crisis and making decisions of such a
magnitude. Think of the complexity of working with the phone company
to determine a distinct mobile phone plan and multiply it out. Most
of us don’t relish being put in that position.
With Port in the Storm,
Cole Giller, MD has crafted an accessible
guide for consumers faced with medical decision making. He provides
the reader with a sense of the realities of facing critical health care
situations and how to learn about the relevant options to make educated
decisions and take an active role in the care process. In addition
to providing a pathway for consumers to understand what is happening
clinically, the author reviews the emotional side of medical crisis
and talks the consumer through those feeling to help them seem more
manageable.
A fair amount of Port
in the Storm deals with arming the patient with the right information.
Many librarians, however, may feel he over simplifies the process of
using and accessing the medical literature, but nonetheless the author
provides salient points of consideration for researching and understanding
medical conditions and options for care. He admits it is not an easy
task, and mentions that librarians can help although he would have done
patients a favor by positioning librarians in more of a partnership
role in this vein. He outlines key elements to look for in reviewing
the evidence—for example being aware of bias, the size of trial samples,
the age of the information being read, and whether or not the study
actually pertains to a patient’s distinct condition—so his points are
nested in the realities medical librarians confront daily when doing
research.
Giller
is a compassionate author who has had personal medical problems. This
book therefore shares an educated voice that encompasses two key perspectives
on the consumer empowerment issue: patient and provider. Port in
the Storm serves as a good introduction for both a patient who wishes
to undertake a more active role in their own medical decision making
by gathering the evidence to do so, and for practitioners who wish to
understand the patient’s perspective to improve their practice and communication
skills.
Lorri Zipperer,
Cybrarian, Zipperer Project Management, Evanston,
IL, lorri@zpm1.com
www.zpm1.com
Publication
Information
Statement
Consumer Connections
(ISSN 1535-7821) is the newsletter of the Consumer
and Patient Information Section of the Medical LibraryAssociation and
is published quarterly.
Content for each issue is
cumulated online at http://caphis.mlanet.org/newsletter,
primarily during the first two months of the quarter; the issue is considered
complete at the end of the quarter. Notification of publication is sent
quarterly via the CAPHIS listserv. Newsletter articles and book reviews
are copyrighted; please contact the editor for reprint permission.
Submissions
Please submit items for Consumer
Connections during the third quarter for publication in the following
quarter.
| Submit by
this newsletter |
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newsletter issue: |
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| June |
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| September |
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| December |
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Please send submissions in
electronic format to the editors:
Howard Fuller
E -mail: howard.fuller@medcenter.stanford.edu
Telephone: (650) 725-3308
or
Nancy Dickenson
E -mail: nancy.dickenson@medcenter.stanford.edu
Telephone: (650) 725-8100
FAX: (650) 725-1444
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