Health Insurance Literacy in Libraries

​​​​​​Many people have difficulty knowing how to find a physician, fill a prescription, use and pay for medications, and use health information to make informed decisions about their health. Libraries are prominent places in communities, making libraries and librarians excellent resources for advancing health information literacy. For example, librarians can address the unmet information needs that leave many unable to make appropriate health insurance choices. For those with lower levels of health insurance literacy, the ability to procure appropriate levels of health insurance coverage may be limited, which can have dire effects on individuals’ health statuses. Addressing this critical information need, Emily Vardell, Ph.D., will present a talk titled “Health Insurance Literacy in Libraries.”

Speaker Bio

Emily Vardell is an Associate Professor in the School of Library and Information Management at Emporia State University. She teaches graduate courses on the foundations of library and information science, reference services, research methods, and health sciences librarianship. Emily studies health information behavior, focusing on health insurance literacy and how people make health insurance decisions. She earned her PhD from the School of Information and Library Science (SILS) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2017 and her Master of Library Science degree from Texas Woman’s University in 2007.

This presentation addresses improving health literacy and the NLM goal 2.0 of reaching more people in more ways through enhanced dissemination and engagement pathways.

This class is for educational and informational purposes in alignment with NNLM goals and does not offer medical advice.

By registering for this class, you are agreeing to the NNLM Code of Conduct