UH Librarians Promote Data Literacy in the Health Sciences

Healthcare workers increasingly depend on data for decision-making, but students frequently graduate with limited data literacy skills in health science professions. Porcia Vaughn, biochemistry, biology, and nursing librarian, and Josh Been, social science data librarian, have joined forces to address this need. Working with the UH School of Nursing and the health education program within the UH College of Education, they developed curriculum and data tools to help health students acquire real world analytical skills.

Socio-economic data can be used to identify and target areas for health intervention.

Socio-economic data can be used to identify and target areas for health intervention.

Socio-economic data can be used to identify and target areas for health intervention. Using these types of data, nursing students developed an education program focused on exposure to lead risk in Fort Bend County, while health education students were able to identify medically underserved areas and food desert regions in Harris County. Additionally, health education students used data visualization tools to explore the effect of peer relationships on alcohol consumption habits.

Been and Vaughn provided in-class activities that allowed students to critically think through real world health issues. These activities led students to create implementation plans for community health education initiatives in the community. These are just two examples of how librarians can enrich the teaching curriculum by providing hands-on experience with data analysis skills that directly influence real world outcomes.

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Posted on May 13th, 2016 by Linda Thompson and filed under Announcements | Comments Off on UH Librarians Promote Data Literacy in the Health Sciences