Expert searching in consumer health: an important role for librarians in the age of the Internet and the Web.
OBJECTIVE
The Patient Education Resource Center at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center conducts mediated searches for patients and families seeking information on complex medical issues, state-of-the-art treatments, and rare cancers. The current study examined user satisfaction and the impact of information provided to this user population.


METHODS
This paper presents the results of 566 user evaluation forms collected between July 2000 and June 2006 (1,532 forms distributed; 37% response rate). Users provided both quantitative and qualitative feedback, which was analyzed and classified into recurrent themes.


RESULTS
The majority of users reported they were very satisfied with the information provided (n = 472, 83%). Over half of users (n = 335, 60%) shared or planned to share the information with their health care provider, and 51% (n = 286) reported that the information made an impact on treatment or quality of life. For 96.2% of users (n = 545), some or all of the information provided had not been received through any other source.


CONCLUSIONS
The results demonstrate that, despite the end-user driven Internet, patients and families are not able to find all the information they need on their own. Expert searching remains an important role for librarians working with consumer health information seekers.
Volk
Ruti Malis
RM
Patient Education Resource Center, Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of MI, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. rvolk@umich.edu
D003625:Data Collection; D005190:Family; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D016247:Information Storage and Retrieval; D020407:Internet; D016245:Librarians; D007999:Library Services; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D024382:Professional Role; D013315:Stress, Psychological