Jennifer StoneJennifer Stone graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2010 with a double major in Biology and Spanish. She is currently working as an associate research specialist in the Pathology Unit at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center with the plan of applying to Medical School in the future. This research project was done as part of an English Composition course taught by Rebecca Lorimer who also advised Jennifer throughout the course of the project.
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ResultsAfter visiting five healthcare provider locations in a mid-sized, Midwestern city and their corresponding websites, health information materials were found to be quite inaccessible (in both English and Spanish) as well as not very available or varied in printed form, demonstrating a shift from printed to online materials. Table 1 provides a detailed summary of the findings of the study. In this table, the available health information at each location is enumerated, described by the topics covered and languages they were available in, and given a subjective number ranking for both ease of access and utility. Ease of access was determined by how difficult it was to find the actual location of the materials within the building or on the internet. This category took into account the number of employees that had to be consulted, how many web pages had to be clicked through, and how much English had to be used in order to find the health information. Utility was determined by the variety of health topics covered in the available health information at the different locations. Table 1: Survey of Health Information Materials at Health Provider Locations in a Mid-sized Midwestern City  For both Walgreens pharmacies, the health information was searched for by the pharmacy counter. At the Walgreens in the middle class family neighborhood, no health information pamphlets were found. The Walgreens in the diverse working class neighborhood had two health pamphlets in English that discussed the topic of diabetes. On the Walgreens website (www.walgreens.com), a variety of health and prescription information was available in English. The Walgreens website provided no link to a Spanish version of the website. However, upon searching the keyword “español” within their website, a link (written in English) was found for a Spanish-language site (www.walgreensespanol.com). This site contained no information (health information or otherwise). It simply stated that it was in the process of being created and that if a refill was desired, the person should enter her prescription number and click "refill." For Neuhauser Pharmacy, a phone call was first placed to see if any health information pamphlets were available in either English or Spanish. The pharmacist revealed that they had mainly English resources but also a few Spanish resources. Upon arrival at the pharmacy, no health information written in Spanish was found. Four health information pamphlets were found in English that discussed the topics of diabetes, domestic abuse (which was available in Spanish but not present in the pharmacy), weight control, and sleep. Neuhauser Pharmacy does not have its own website, but does have a website through Health Mart because it is a Health Mart Pharmacy (https://stores.healthmart.com). This website did not contain any health information in Spanish but did contain a wealth of information in English including information on the topics of blood pressure, cholesterol, mental health, nutrition, weight management, stress management, smoking cessation, fitness, and more. The UW Hospital was called and visited as well. In an initial visit, the researcher was unable to find any health information pamphlets and decided to do some research about where to find health information at the hospitals before coming back another day. A couple of days later, the researcher called the main line of the hospital and asked where health information pamphlets could be found. The receptionist was unsure and transferred the researcher to the information desk where the same question was asked. This person was also unsure and transferred the researcher to the Learning Center. The Learning Center then did not answer and an answering machine picked up. The UW Hospital website (www.uwhealth.org) was then visited for information about the Learning Center. No location was given online, but the hours were given to be Monday through Friday from 1pm to 4pm and by appointment. The researcher then visited the UW Hospital in person. Upon entering the hospital, the researcher asked the information desk for the location of the Learning Center. At the Learning Center, thirteen pamphlets were found outside of the room. All of the pamphlets discussed either smoking cessation or diabetes. Nine of the pamphlets were available only in English. Two were bilingual with the information in English on one side and the information (translated word for word) in Spanish on the other side. There were also two pamphlets available only in Spanish and both of these were about smoking cessation. After finding the Learning Center locked and closed, the Interpretation Services Office was visited for more information. The only health information in the office was a “Cover Your Cough” poster written in Spanish. The office also had brochures for other organizations like Planned Parenthood and domestic violence houses and a Patient Rights and Responsibilities sheet in Spanish, but no health information in Spanish. The receptionists in the office also could not definitively say where health resources in Spanish could be found. They believed that patients generally went to the Learning Center to have “Health Facts for You” sheets printed off for them in Spanish. Finally, they suggested that the researcher visit the Learning Center or the UW Hospital’s website, a frustrating suggestion because of the limited hours of the Learning Center and the lack of information available in Spanish at both locations. The UW Hospital’s website (www.uwhealth.org) was then visited. An “En Español” link was easily available on the website’s homepage. This link led to information about finding the hospital, emergency services, being a patient at the hospital, how to obtain your medical information, a map of the clinics, and a few other miscellaneous links. The only health information available was about kidney transplants, prevention against the flu, and information about poisons (as well as a few links to other Spanish language health websites such as the Wisconsin Women’s Health Guide and cancer.gov). The English version of the website contained pages upon pages of information about a wide variety of health topics including diseases, injuries, nutrition, surgery, symptoms, and much more. However, upon more searching on this website, other Spanish language resources were found hidden within English resources. Upon clicking “Health Information,” “Diseases and Conditions,” “Health Facts for You,” and finally “Spanish” (all written in English), a list of translated information sheets could be clicked on. However, the titles of the sheets were not written in Spanish on the website page. Only once the title of the sheet was clicked on (in English) did anything written in Spanish actually appear. Meriter Hospital’s website was also visited and their Consumer Health Information Library was contacted. Upon clicking the “Patient and Visitor” heading, the “Consumer Health and Medical Library” link was followed. On this page, the Consumer Health and Medical Library described itself as containing many resources written in everyday language that patients could use to understand their medical condition and treatment. The library was then called in search of written pamphlets. The librarian stated that they had books (a few available in Spanish) that could be checked out or otherwise the patient could ask the librarians to print off information (in either English or Spanish) for them. The librarian also said that many people are directed to their webpage or other reputable health-related websites. Upon looking at their website (www.meriter.com), a good quantity of health information was found on a wide array of topics, but none of this information was available in Spanish. From the website’s homepage, an “En Español” tab was found. However, the information listed in this link contained general information about the hospital and their amenities, how to get to or contact the hospital, and information about the emergency services and birthing departments and thus did have any health information materials available at all.
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