Consumer health information (CHI) is information on health and medical topics provided in response to requests from the general public, including patients and their families. In addition to information on the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of disease, CHI encompasses information on health promotion, preventive medicine, the determinants of health and accessing the health care system.
Patient education is a planned activity, initiated by a health professional, whose aim is to impart knowledge, attitudes and skills with the specific goal of changing behavior, increasing compliance with therapy and, thereby, improving health.
CHI and patient education overlap in practice, since patient behavior may change as a result of receiving health information materials. Patient education and CHI often differ in terms of the setting in which the process occurs, rather than in terms of the subject matter.
Source: Consumer and Patient Health Information Section of Medical Library Association
A Tutorial from the National Library of Medicine - Evaluating Internet Health Information http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/webeval/webeval.html
The Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT) and User’s Guide http://www.ahrq.gov/professionals/prevention-chronic-care/improve/self-mgmt/pemat/index.html
DISCLAIMER
Meharry Medical College Library makes no claims as to the completeness, reliability, or currency of the information found at any of these websites. Talk with your health care provider.