Please support our project bid!

Info+ Alliance: Providing accurate, quality and timely sex health information using innovative ICTs

Please help us by taking the time to view, rate, and comment on our preliminary project description. It is our intent to create an innovative application for fact-checking media reports around sexual health, including HIV/AIDS by working in collaboration with experts in Second Life, North Carolina, Illinois, New York, Australia, and India. The idea and collaboration has sprung from relationships in Second Life, and intends to benefit both SL and RL communities.

You'll see basic information about the proposed project on the following link, and depending upon ratings, we'll be invited to submit a more complete application.

Please go here to see and rate our proposal. Your comments are also greatly appreciated, since these may affect the decision as much or more as the ratings.
http://tinyurl.com/6neon3

from one of the accompanying documents:

Working in partnership with Alliance Library System in Illinois and in collaboration with the Journalism and Media Research Centre, University of New South Wales (Australia) and the University of North Carolina Center for AIDS research, Community Outreach, Dissemination, and Education Office (CFAR), the Info+ Alliance brings together internationally recognised experts in journalism, sex health education, health information provision, cultural studies, media arts and computer programming across three countries.

Thank you for your support!!

Carolina Keats
Coordinator, Healthinfo Island and Karuna projects

Virtual Worlds, Real Libraries: Innovators Describe Pioneering Library and Educational Projects in Second Life and Other Virtual Environments

We are pleased to say that a new book was announced today! Namro (Guus van den Brekel)and myself (Carol Perryman) wrote one of the chapters in this work, whihc was most ably coordinated and edited by Lori Bell and Rhonda Trueman.

For the entire text of the release, see http://liswire.com/node/241

By RobColding - Posted on 16 October 2008

October 20, 2008, Monterey, CA—At the 12th annual Internet Librarian Conference and Exhibition, Information Today, Inc. (ITI) announced the publication of Virtual Worlds, Real Libraries: Librarians and Educators in Second Life and Other Multi-User Virtual Environments, edited by Lori Bell and Rhonda B. Trueman.

Eighty percent of Internet users are expected to engage in some form of virtual world activity by 2011 (Gartner Research Group), and librarians and educators are already there. Virtual Worlds, Real Libraries—the brainchild of editors Bell and Trueman—is designed to help libraries and schools recognize the importance of multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) and consider ways of getting involved as they proliferate. The editors and 24 contributors describe innovative library, educational, and cultural projects they have undertaken. They recount their experiences working together to succeed in Second Life and other virtual worlds and explain how traditional library services such as reference, teaching, collections, discussion groups, and young adult programs can be applied in a virtual environment.

Tags: secondlife, sl, virtualwords, healthinfoisland, als

PubMed for YOU: Searching for Medical information

PubMed for YOU: Searching for Medical Information

October 14
PubMed for YOU: Searching for Medical information
Healthinfo Island Classroom area
11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. SL time
Prerequisites: Curiosity and an interest in searching for health information

Join us on Healthinfo Island for a hands-on opportunity to learn how you (yes, you!) can search the PubMed database. No need for prior experience - it's all about checking out one of the greatest informational resources we have, free on the Internet. Questions? Contact Carolina Keats inworld.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/102/190/24

AIDS Information and Outreach in the Virtual World of Second Life

The Alliance Library System (ALS) is pleased to announce that the National Library of Medicine has awarded ALS a $60,000 grant for a project entitled "AIDS Information and Outreach in the Virtual World of Second Life." The project includes the creation of a new island with a community AIDS/HIV library/resource center. The resource center will provide information support and outreach to the Second Life community and beyond about AIDS/HIV and its prevention. The new island will also be home to a garden space where narratives about the AIDS/HIV experience can be shared through art, audio, video, poetry, essays, and more. The project runs from October 1, 2008 – March 31, 2010.

This is the fourth grant awarded to ALS for the provision of consumer health information in Second Life, and will also fund a continuation of current efforts. The project coordinator will be Carol Perryman, known inworld as Carolina Keats.

For more information on the Alliance Library System, please see www.alliancelibrarysystem.com or contact Lori Bell at lbell927@gmail.com, or in Second Life as Lorelei Junot.

For more information about this project, please contact Carol Perryman at cp1757@gmail.com or in Second Life as Carolina Keats.

Healthcare Education group event

A truly interesting and even motivational event, and I'm not just saying that because I had some small part in it. Pathfinder Linden spoke to a group of ~30 healthcare folks at the new Health EduIsland, expressing his strong interest in, and advocacy of, health and health education efforts in Second Life. I love the thought that this group constitutes evidence of the continued development of SL as a platform, moving toward exploiting the networking capabilities of virtual worlds to share experiences and grow together. That's sure what it's about, isn't it?

Plans afoot - Health EduIsland

Next Friday the Healthcare Education group will be meeting in their new space for the first time! Planned as an 'ahoy maties!' pirate-themed party, we'll take a look around and talk about plans for the use of this large chunk of space, deciding how it can best be used to meet our objectives. You're invited to attend!

Announcing..... Health EduIsland!

To the immediate south of Healthinfo Island, please note a new green space, currently furnished only by the sign you see above. Intended as a gathering space for the health community, we will be making the auditorium (which is to be the centerpiece of the island) available to all health groups through a calendaring system. We're excited to be able to host the upcoming Stepping into Health conference here, as well as the next World AIDS Day, and have offered space to the new Healthcare Education group for meetings and displays.

Contact Carolina Keats for further information

Tags: healthInfoisland, healthEduIsland, education, medical, health, nlm, als

"Stepping into Health" becomes Third in Popular "Stepping into Virtual Worlds" Series

Using virtual worlds to promote health and healthcare is the topic of the next installment of the popular "Stepping into Virtual Worlds" conference series, to be offered October 7^th, 2008 in Second Life. Hundreds of people have attended this series, which began with "Stepping into History" in June and continued with "Stepping into Literature" in August. The series is sponsored by Alliance Library System and LearningTimes. The day-long conference is open to the public, with more information available at http://www.steppingintovirtualworlds.org. It will take place entirely in the virtual world of Second Life.

During this conference, participants will make virtual "field trips" to some of the best and most creative locations that are using virtual worlds to promote health. During these field trips, they will be able to speak with those responsible for creating the simulations, and have time to explore them on their own. Among the field trips for this conference are Healthinfo Island, a health education simulation where visitors can test their knowledge of strokes by walking through a giant artery and destroying clots by correctly answering questions, and ToxTown, a typical American town where potentially dangerous chemicals can easily be seen.

In addition to the field trips, the conference includes:

• Keynote presentations by Randy Hinrichs, founder of 2B3D and developer of the "Medipelago," a group of health related simulations in Second Life; and Ramesh Ramloll, creator of Play2Train, a virtual world simulator used to prepare healthcare professionals and others for crisis situations
• Table Talks on subjects such as "Healthcare Education and Advocacy in Virtual Worlds," "Virtual World Health Librarianship" and "Using Virtual World for Training Medical Personnel."
• A panel discussion, allowing participants to question and interact with a variety of experts in the use of virtual worlds in health and healthcare.

Alliance Library System, co-sponsor of the "Stepping Into" series, is a multi-type library system headquartered in East Peoria, Illinois. Alliance has been a leader in developing ways for libraries to expand their missions and serve patrons in virtual worlds. Alliance is on the web at www.alliancelibrarysystem.com.

LearningTimes, the second co-sponsor, is the leading producer of online communities and online conferences for education and training. Their clients and partners include educational and cultural institutions, non-profit organizations, associations and membership groups. LearningTimes provides the training, platforms, applications and expertise these organizations need to make their conferences a success. More information about LearningTimes can be found at www.learningtimes.net.

The cost for this day-long conference is $79, and participants may register for the conference at www.steppingintovirtualworlds.org

I take this one personally

Nearly 8 years ago I finally did what I had been dreading for 29 years: I stopped smoking. The journey to cessation was amazing and life-altering, entailing lots of learning. I didn't just learn about what smoking does to bodies, but about my own fears and anxieties around cessation, and how important a community of support is in change.

You could say that this class was more than 8 years in the making. I will be telling (briefly!) my own story, but also asking for your own experience. Without pressure, I'll also share a few good resources so when you're ready, you'll know where to find good info on medications, community support, and more (and who knows, we may even begin our own smoking cessation support group).

Second Life is a community. Let's come together for health!

Carolina Keats

Notecard text:
Consumer Health Information at Healthinfo Island: The Workshop

Have you always wanted to learn more about consumer health information services? Join us on Wednesday, September 3 at 11:00 a.m. SL time for a one hour hands-on class!

Location is on Healthinfo Island in the classroom area: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/154/226/0

This is intended for you, if you:

• have little or no experience with consumer health information
  
• are interested in joining the active SL Health Librarians group, including helping to provide coverage on Healthinfo Island for tours and other activities
  

Expect to walk (or fly!) away with a basic awareness of the following:

• Reference skills (what do I need to remember? What are some dos and dont's?)
  
• Basic resources: links and tips
  
• Health information literacy - and and easy way to measure content for readability
  
• Credibility in a virtual environment: Resource quality evaluation, transparency, and knowing when to refer

The content of this workshop was used to train staff (including paraprofessionals) at the Duke University Medical Center Library, and is adapted for use in Second Life. If there is sufficient interest we will plan a second class for more advanced skills.

Updated study finds 56% of Americans seek health information - up from 38%

A tremendous jump in health information seeking between 2001 and 2007 is reported in a new report by the Study for Seeking Health System Change. Full content of the study's findings is available online. Looking at the graph above, I find it interesting that overall, people are reporting they use media sources, peers, and the internet at about the same rate to learn more about health issues - a very significant change in the way we look for health information.

The most striking finding on the impact of health information is that four of five information seekers found information that helped them to better understand how to treat an illness or condition. This positive impact on consumers’ health knowledge was consistently high across demographic subgroups (HSC Tracking Report No. 20).

The authors conclude that increased health information seeking by consumers may be a result of the awareness that physicians have less time, and call for health policy organizations to find ways to make good health information easier to find.

I disagree somewhat with the recommendation: There is fantastic information available now. To begin with, MedlinePlus.gov serves as a huge portal source to many, many other top-quality health association sites. Where I find gaps is in the consumer awareness of resources, and perhaps in the complexity of the resources. I have seldom encountered a consumer who is familiar with MedlinePlus, and when I introduce it, they are usually astounded and impressed (and perhaps, a bit intimidated) by the sheer volume of information. If I were Health Information Czar :) I'd launch a major publicity campaign on behalf of MedlinePlus, with TV and radio spots, with personal narratives, individual accounts of how people found information through that site that empowered them as partners in their own healthcare. Got Healthinfo?

Wordle Image of This Blog healthInfoIsland in Second Life

Click the Small Image to see the real thing at Wordle.net!

Looking for Health : a workshop on finding good health information

Class is in session!

This great image, kind courtesy of Ewa Dobrogowska
thanks so much!

I'm pleased with the number of people who showed up to this first class on the brand new Virtual Ability Island! Today was also the first time I have tried using voice AND a serial chat feeder AND slides, along with typed chat, for teaching. Let me just say that it's clear to me that I am no teenager, multitasking with ease and grace.

One idea that has resulted from this class is that we need to have a group (oh no, another group!) for Healthinfo Island and Virtual Ability Island classes, workshops and events. I'm trying to find a script that I can insert into a poster ('touch here to be notified about classes') or other object.

Upon request, I am also linking here to the class transcript. Note that because I didn't get permission, I have 'anonymized' everyone except me, calling all class participants 'A'. As I did this, I thought it was probably a good practice even if people do give permission.

Second Life and Pubic Health

See the amazing use of virtual worlds for Public Health Simulations in Second Life .... To see the highquality video click here: http://www.lib.umich.edu/hsl/SecondLifePublicHealth.mov
posted by Namro Orman on Healthinfo Island using a blogHUD : [permalink]

ALERT: AIDS occurrence far higher than supposed

Referring to the situation as a 'wake up call,' the CDC expresses a need for action and improved or expanded education and support. See the AIDS.gov blog post for more information - and then increase your awareness by looking at displays created on Healthinfo Island by two AIDS and HIV support groups who share our space.

For 'real world' information please visit the AIDS.gov site, and also MedlinePlus.gov. For questions and health information support free of charge, contact Carolina Keats, medical and consumer health librarian, in Second Life.

VIRTUAL ABILITY ISLAND GRAND OPENING!

Please help us spread the word



Join us on Saturday, August 16th at 1 PM SLT to celebrate the Grand Opening of Virtual Ability Island.

The island was developed with a new resident orientation center, advanced tutorials, and training facilities for individuals with disabilities or chronic health conditions.

The entire island is accessibility-friendly for new and experienced residents and will provide ongoing classes for people who want to search for and evaluate health information.

Funding came through an initial grant from the National Library of Medicine to the Alliance Library System and is sustained by the generosity of individual contributors to Virtual Ability, Inc. We are excited to present this important resource to members of the Second Life community!

Location: Virtual Ability Island
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Virtual%20Ability/128/128/23

Contact Carolina Keats or Eme Capalini, inworld, for more information.

Stroke Awareness Exhibit Now at Healthinfo Island

A project of the Occupational Therapy Center at Jefferson in Second Life, the Stroke Awareness Exhibit can now be seen on Healthinfo Island, http://slurl.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/63/142/21/



The interactive display was developed by graduate students in the Department of Occupational Therapy at Jefferson College of Health Professions in Philadelphia, PA, USA, under the direction of Zsuzsa Tomsen (Susan Toth-Cohen in RL). The exhibit consists of 3 presentations about stroke--including types of stroke, statistics, and rehabilitation. There is a 2-question quiz after each presentation. Visitors also can collect free brain-themed prizes - t-shirts, a necklace, and a hat.

When the Jefferson Faculty-Student team first discussed having an exhibit for Stroke Awareness Month (May 2008), the original idea was to have displays of topics related to stroke, video, and quizzes. "However," says Zsuzsa, "when the occupational therapy graduate students and I brainstormed (!), they suggested that we have a walk-through artery. Further, the students suggested the idea of 'clot dissolving quizzes--' made so that the visitor could pass through only if (s)he got the quiz questions right."

"This was a big turning point for our exhibit planning. A later trip to the Tech Museum of Innovation also provided some good ideas for how to better utilize the 3D world for healthcare related exhibits."

The Occupational Therapy Center blog can be found at: http://otsecondlife.wordpress.com/ for more information about their exhibits and the process of their creation.

Progressive values at work: Using virtual worlds for real world impact

How do Second Life activities affect 'real life' organizations and individuals? Join us for a discussion about the virtual health community and its role in empowerment and change. The panel will be in voice, broadcast live and archived on BlogTalk Radio, and is part of a 4-day event sponsored by Netroots Nation (formerly Daily Kos). We're setting aside the last half hour for Q & A.

Moderator: Widget Whiteberrry
Panelists: Gentle Heron, Virtual Ability, Carolina Keats, Healthinfo Island, and Roberto Salubrius, Ability Commons
Date: Sunday, July 20, 2008
Time: 10:15am-12:30pm (Pacific time):
Place: Netroots Arena
SLURL: http://tinyurl.com/63jrn

For more information about this event, see http://www.nninsl.org/

All speakers can be contacted in Second Life. A link to the audio archive of this presentation will be provided as soon as it's available, as well as other information.

Netroots Nation in SL - Healthinfo Island is there!

Netroots Nation (formerly the YearlyKos Convention) helps politically active netroots communities make a difference in the public sphere. The third annual gathering will be held July 17–20 in Austin, Texas. Netroots Nation 2008 will include panels led by national and international experts, including a virtual session held in conjunction with the 2008 BlogHer Conference; identity, issue and regional caucuses; prominent political, issue and policy-oriented speakers; a progressive film screening series; and the most concentrated gathering of progressive bloggers to date.

- from the blog announcement, found here.

I am honored to be speaking on a panel with Gentle Heron, of the Virtual Ability group, about the real life effects of health related activities in Second Life. Our part will be on Sunday, July 20th:

Event: SL Panel "Progressive Values at Work: Using Virtual Worlds for Real World Impact"
Gentle Heron, Vitual Ability, Carolina Keats, Consumer Health Librarian
Time:10:15am-12:30pm (Pacific time):
Place: Netroots Arena
SLURL: http://tinyurl.com/63jrn4

The panel will be in voice, simulcast to the Austin conference location, and may be archived - that part I don't know. What I do know is that it's a wonderful opportunity to talk about how those with disabilities and chronic health conditions can find community in a world none of us could have imagined.

Poor communication = Poor healthcare?

A study published in the June 2008 issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal, asks whether poor communication was an important risk factor in adverse events for hospital patients (1).

In order to try to answer this question, the researchers randomly chose 2,355 patient charts from 20 hospitals across the province of Quebec, Canada, looking at reported communication problems (language, hearing abilities, and more) and then comparing these to the 'adverse events' reported.

Adverse events, in medical lingo, are 'unintended injur[ies] or complication[s] caused by delivery of clinical care rather than by the patient’s condition.' (1)

It may not come as a surprise to you that some patients with communication barriers were 3 times more likely to experience preventable adverse effects during their hospital stays. The two main contributors to the likelihood of adverse effects were found to be communication barriers and poor clinical management.

As an editorial in the same issue puts it, 'elderly women, those who were admitted to hospital because of an emergency and those whose ability to communicate with health care providers was limited because of a foreign language, deafness or a psychiatric disorder were the patients most likely to receive inadequate care.(2)'

The authors have called for more research looking at what can be done to identify people with communication problems, and then to consider these barriers in providing health care.

Solutions to the problem of health communication are both simple and complex. In the editorial mentioned earlier, the use of 3 questions is referred to as a way for health professionals to be sure that understanding is achieved:

What is my main problem?
What do I need to do?
Why is it important for me to do this?

These questions are suggested by the Partnership for Clear Health Communication, based on work done by Iowa Health (www.npsf.org/askme3). The idea here is that patients should be able to answer the three questions after talking with their health providers to ensure that understanding has been achieved.

Other problems are more complex, says Frankel (2): health care is often based on providing the most efficient care for a very large population, and this may be a barrier to recognizing communication problems and helping those who are impaired in some way.


1. Bartlett, G., Blais, R., Tamblyn, R., et al. (2008, June 3). Impact of patient communication problems on the risk of preventable adverse events in acute care settings. CMAJ 2008 178: 1555-1562.
You can read it for yourself at http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/reprint/178/12/1555 (PDF).

2. Frankel, A. (2008, June 3). Health literacy and harm: Who is at risk? What is the fix? CMAJ 2008 178: 1573-1574. You can read it for yourself at http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/178/12/1573

Summary and comments not otherwise cited are the opinion of Carol Perryman.