Area of Responsibility VI Serve as a Health Education Resource Person

Area of Responsibility VI: Serve as a Health Education Resource Person The RoleHealth educators need to serve as a resource for valid health information. In addition, a health educator needs to be able to evaluate and select resource material for dissemination to individuals and groups. Being a resource person also means that you must be able to establish consultative relationships and develop skills necessary for serving as a liaison for networking and for facilitating collaborative efforts. Key Terms● ● ● ● Consultation: the process by which the knowledge of one person is used to help another make better decisions. Informal Consulting: does not require a written agreement of formal contract. This type of consulting consists of acting as a resources person responsible for organizing health education materials and responding to requests for health education information and literature/materials. Formal Consulting: requires a contract or written agreement between two parties, the client and the consultant. A formal consultant is hired for his/her expertise in a particular area for which the client needs assistance, advice, direction, etc. Formal consulting follows the steps of diagnosis, recommendation, action, evaluation, and termination. Online Database: refers to any systematically organized information accessible on the Internet, which may be used by health educators to obtain health knowledge and/or resources for the health education process. An online database may include texts, documents, citations, abstracts, images, audios, videos, and/or web links. Competency A: Use Health-Related Information Resources ● ● ● Match information needs with the appropriate retrieval systems Select a data system commensurate with program needs o Microcomputer Applications: computer assisted instruction software and/or wed application, including word processing software. o Presentation Software: including multimedia slideshows o Database Software: i.e. electronic filing systems o Electronic Spreadsheet Software: creates graphs, charts, and tables o Statistical Analysis Software: preforms statistical analysis, such as descriptive statistics and analytical statistics. o Desktop Publishing Software: used for creating newsletters and pamphlets o Health-Risk Appraisal Software: reports on health risks for individuals or groups in order to motivate change o Internet Applications: Health information web sites and search engines Determine the relevance of various computerized health information resources o When assessing online information consider the following: ▪ Who is responsible for the site? ▪ What is the site’s funding source? ▪ What is the purpose of the site? ▪ Does it contain evidence-based references? ▪ Is the information current and up to date? ▪ Does it track users as subscribers or members? o ● ● More specifically, consider: ▪ Reputable affiliations ▪ Author/administrative names ▪ Author contact information ▪ Domain names ▪ Web site purpose ▪ Priority population ▪ Site’s accuracy ▪ Site’s adequacy Access health information resources o Primary Sources- published studies or experiments o Secondary Sources- article or study summaries o Tertiary Sources- reference tools compiled from primary and secondary sources Employ electronic technology for retrieving references o MEDLINE o ERIC (Education Resource Information Center) o CHID (Combined Health Information Database) o CINAHL (Cumulative Index for Nursing and Allied Health Literature) o HaPl (Health and Psychosocial Instruments) Competency B: Respond to Requests for Health Information ● ● Identify information sources needed to satisfy a request Refer requesters to valid sources of health information o Examples of legitimate sources of health information include: ▪ Government; state and local health departments ▪ Disease-specific organizations ▪ Health care agencies ▪ Established published of health information Competency C: Select Resource Materials for Dissemination Regardless of where health information originates, the following steps to identifying the information need for dissemination: ● ● ● 1. Identify the need 2. Match the need to likely source 3. Pursue lead 4. Judge the quality and quantity of the information found 5. Organize the available material in a format most useful for the user Evaluate applicability of resource materials for given audience Apply various processes to acquire resource materials Assemble educational material of value to the health of individuals and community groups o GEM (The gateway to Educational Materials) o HRSA (Health Resources and Services Administration) Competency D: Establish Consultative Relationships ● Analyze parameters of effective consultative relationships o Expertise shared with the client includes: ● ● ● ● ▪ Health education and health promotion information ▪ Program assessment and planning skills ▪ Health education resources and materials ▪ Professional guidance on health-related procedures o Internal consultant (formally advising colleagues within an agency) o External consultant (outside of the agency, more formal) ▪ Steps in formal consulting include: ● Assessment of the clients’ needs ● Reports or suggestions for action ● Implementation of agreed-upon actions ● Evaluation of the suggested actions ● Final reporting of results Analyze the role of the health educator as a liaison between program staff and outside groups and organizations o When working among staff or outside groups, the health educator focuses on: ▪ Trusting and respecting other leaders and groups ▪ Engaging individuals and groups ▪ Empathizing with individuals and groups ▪ Supporting individuals and groups Act as a liaison among consumer groups, individuals, and health care provider organizations o The following skills are required in this position: ▪ Information seeking ▪ Meeting management ▪ Resource material evaluation ▪ Report writing Apply networking skills to develop and maintain consultative relationships Facilitate collaborative training efforts among health agencies and organizations o The trainer should take into consideration: ▪ Priority audience ▪ Where training will be held ▪ Goals and objectives of the initiative/intervention ▪ Planned activities for the program ▪ Materials needed