Health Resources in Multiple Languages

Those of you who follow my blog notice that from time to time I highlight multilingual health information Web sites as Healthy Roads Media.

Recently (via a US govt listserv- PHPartners) I ‘ve come across a wonderful list of general health information resources in multiple languages. This resource list is a subset of the larger  Multi-Cultural Resources for Health Information. Multi-Cultural Resources includes links in the following areas

• Cultural Competency
• Dictionaries, Glossaries, and Online Translation Tools
• Health Literacy
• Health Resources in Multiple Languages
• Interpreting in Health Care
• Law, Policy, and Standards
• Limited English Proficiency
• Multicultural Research
• Organizations and Portals
• Refugee Health Portals
• Disclaimer

Oh, I haven’t forgotten. Here is the list of Health Resources in Multiple Languages.

 

• Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition Documents in Other Languages 
  Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
• Consumer Health Information in Many Languages
  Multilingual online health resources, organized by specific
  languages, including glossaries
  National Network of Libraries of Medicine, National Library of Medicine
• EurasiaHealth Knowledge Network 
  Clearinghouse of free resources on Central & Eastern Europe and
  the New Independent States
  American International Health Alliance
  United States Agency for International Development
• Facts for Families 
  In English, Spanish, German, Malaysian, Polish, and Icelandic
  American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
• Health Access Project
  Translated Hospital Instructions
• Health Information Translations 
  Information for limited English proficiency patients translated into various languages
  The Ohio State University Medical Center, Mount Carmel Health System
  OhioHealth
• Health on the Net Select 
  Searchable database of medical and health queries
  Available in English, French, German, Spanish, and Portuguese
• Health Translations Directory 
  From Australia. Contains links to online multi-lingual resources
  Department of Human Services
  State Government of Victoria, Australia
• Healthy Roads Media 
  Site contains free health education materials in a number of languages
  and a variety of formats
  Healthy Roads Media
• Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada 
  Material available in English and French. French link found at bottom of page
  Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada
• Multilingual Health and Safety Resource Guide
  Labor Occupational Health Program, Center for Occupational and Environmental Health
  University of California at Berkeley
• Multilingual Health Information
  Stanford Health Library, Stanford University
• Free Publications for Women
  Easy-to-read pamphlets, available multiple languages
  Office of Women’s Health, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
• Patient Information Brochures for Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgery 
  Material available in English, French, Polish, Spanish, and Vietnamese
  The Society of Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons
• Resources by Language
  Health topics in 50 languages
  NSW Multicultural Health Communication Service
  New South Wales, Australia
• Translated British Columbia Health Files
  Fact sheets translated into Chinese, French, Punjabi, Spanish, and Vietnamese
  Ministry of Health, British Columbia, Canada
• Urban Health Partners
  Spotlight on Arabic language health materials and Arab American health.
  Additional materials on Culturally Responsive Health Care
  Vera P. Shiffman Medical Library, Wayne State University
• Vaccine Information in Other Languages
  Vaccine information in over 30 languages
  Immunization Action Coalition
• West Nile Virus Multilingual Fact Sheets
  Patient education materials about West Nile Virus in 22 languages
  Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care
  Government of Ontario, Canada

Related articles

• 5 tips for engaging with multilingual audiences on social media (prdaily.com)
• More Resources On Different Cultures (larryferlazzo.edublogs.org)
• Web Resources for African Languages‏ (metaglossia.wordpress.com)
• “I Read It on the Internet, So It Must Be True”: The Importance of Media Literacy (healthed.typepad.com)
• Digital Health Literacy: Separating Fact From Fiction (healthed.typepad.com)
• Internet Health Information: Be a Savvy Consumer! (julia5150.com)
• More Consumers Get Health Info On Mobile Devices (informationweek.com)

 

Healthy Roads Media and other sources of quality health information in many languages and multiple formats

Healthy Roads Media: A source of quality health information in many languages and multiple formats

From a recent posting to Medlib-L (a medical librarian listserv)

“I direct a multilingual web-based health information project called Healthy Roads Media (www.healthyroadsmedia.org).

It is an effort to explore, develop and evaluate the use of various information technology strategies to provide health information access to hard to reach populations. Of special focus are low-literacy and non-English speaking groups.

Our materials are in multiple formats – handouts, audio, multimedia, web-video, and iPod video. We have had the content migrate off of the computer platform to iPods, televisions (via cabled iPod), radio and simple MP3 players (a solder in Iraq). Audio is our most accessed format (even more than handouts).

Some of the languages we work with are new or come from mainly an oral tradition so formats other than written are especially important. I am just beginning to explore mobile phone strategies as this technology has penetrated into every group and is easier for many to access that computers/internet. The one thing we have not explored (due to lack of funding and staff) are social media strategies.”

Current Topics include abuse, AIDS/HIV, asthma, cancer, dental health, diseases/conditions,food/nutrition, housing, immunization, mental health,pregnancy, sexual health, smoking, and TB.

The Links page includes

• New Routes: Using local media made by immigrants and refugees to improve the health of immigrants and refugees.
• Multicultural Health Communication Service
• Immunization Action Coalition
• Minnesota Dept. of Health – Refugee Health
• Multilingual & Multicultural Information Sites
• The 24 Languages Project
• The Center for Cross-Cultural Health
• The San Jose Plane Tree Health Library
• EthnoMed: Ethnic medicine information from Harborview Medical Center
• Virginia Department of Health, Division of Disease Prevention, Tuberculosis Control
• Hmong Health Website
• American Academy of Physicians, FamilyDoctor.org
• Health Information Translations
• California Health Literacy Initiative
• Multi-Cultural Educational Resources
• MedlinePlus Interactive Health Tutorials

Some additional resources

• Health Information in Multiple Languages (MedlinePlus)
• Consumer Health Information in Many Languages Resources (National Network of Libraries of Medicine) As of Dec 2010 languages included American Sign Language, Arabic, Cambodian/Khmer, Chinese, French, German, Hmong, Korean, Laotian, Russian, Spanish, Thai, and Vietnamese
• Multilingual Health Information (Stanford) As of Dec 2010 the site included nearly 50 languages)
• Health Materials in Languages other than English
  
• (Health) Materials in Asian Languages
  
• Health Information Translations -Quality Translations in Multiple Languages (via Mount Carmel Health Sciences Library)

• Locate easy-to-read health information in different languages.
• Print outs are in English and in a foreign language (dual language information).

Sources (with additional links)

Multicultural and Multilingual Health Information (University of Colorado Denver Health Sciences Library)

 Health Websites in Other Languages (Binghampton University Libraries)