title: Development of a culturally relevant consumer health information website for Harlem, New York.
abstract: The process of creating a geographically tailored health information website with ongoing feedback from community members is one of inquiry and discovery, frustration and triumph, and development and reevaluation. This article reviews the development and implementation of GetHealthyHarlem.org, a health literacy level-appropriate consumer health information website tailored to consumers in Harlem, New York City. From 2004 to 2009, the Harlem Health Promotion Center, one of 37 Prevention Research Centers in the United States, sought to determine the use and seeking of online health information in Harlem, New York City in order to further explore the possibility of providing online health information to this community. Specifically, this article details how we sought to identify gaps, concerns, and uses of online health information and health care seeking in this local, predominantly racial and ethnic minority population. We review how we identified and addressed the multitude of variables that play a role in determining the degree of success in finding and using online health information, and include discussions about the genesis of the website and our successes and challenges in the development and implementation stages.
authors.affiliation: Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Haruka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Morita
authors.affiliation: Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Katrina F
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Mateo
authors.affiliation: Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nye
authors.affiliation: Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Carly
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hutchinson
authors.affiliation: Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Alwyn T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Cohall
mesh_terms: D054626:Consumer Health Information; D003469:Culture; D057220:Health Literacy; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D009519:New York City; D016730:Program Development; D014481:United States
keywords: Internet; community collaboration; consumer education; cultural relevance; health communication; health literacy; tailored communications; technology; web-based health education