Empowering patients through health information literacy training

The purpose of the paper is to outline some new approaches to information literacy instruction for health librarians and other information professionals.

In the context of the increasing amount of health information on the internet, the paper outlines a changing attitude to health care that is based on shared decision making and informed consent. Health and other information professionals have a responsibility to promote health information literacy among health consumers. This includes mastering the basic principles of teaching and learning, and the evaluation of health information, including the techniques of critical thinking.

The paper summarises some criteria for evaluating health information sources and applies these to four well‐known health web sites, and concludes that all provide valuable and reliable consumer health information, but that none meets all the criteria advocated.

There is an ongoing need for education of information professionals and health consumers to ensure that the potential benefits of health information on the world wide web are maximised.

The paper offers new information and techniques for information literacy training to health information and other information professionals.