Picky eaters: case

Case/challenge

Scenario

A young man follows his child into the room and sees a pamphlet he's interested in but we only have the French version displayed. He asks if we have it in English and I pull it out from one of the many boxes I am keeping under the extra desk until we can find someplace to store them. Eventually the plan is to have an extra computer at that desk that patients and their families can use while they wait. The pamphlet is called Feeding your child ages 2-5. The man tells me his daughter is 2 years and 7 months old and a very finicky eater. I offer to see if I can find some other resources. He's nervous about staying in the room with me as he might not hear his name being called. The waiting room is quite animated this morning and a vacuum is being used nearby. I offer to find some information for him and tell him she can pick it up after his appointment.

Resolution

I find a few good resources that will supplement the pamphlet nicely:

From Eat Right Ontario: Picky eaters and serving sizes
From Kids Health: Nutrition & Fitness section
From the BC Ministry for Children and Families: Feeding your toddler with love and good food (pdf)

I print these out and place them handily on my desk for the man to pick up when he leaves. He never returns for them.

Discussion

I'm not sure what to do with the 10 pages or so that I have printed. We have not yet established a procedure for this eventuality but I am now inspired to create one. Some things to consider: a way for patients to be located when they are with me and their name is called; a way to get printed information to a patient in case they forget it (email, fax?); a place to put abandoned printed information that may be used at a later time.

Further resolution & discussion

The following week I decide to try and track down the man and see if he still wants the information. I go to the chief administrator at Herzl to ask if she can suggest how to find the man using only a first name. Medivisit, the clinic's appointment scheduling software, only allows a search using both first and last. She randomly calls one of the team coordinators, who as it happens knows the man we are looking for. I have contact information in my hands within 2 minutes. I call the man and he does still want the information. I leave it with the team coordinator for him to pick up at his next visit. I am very impressed with how well the teams seem to know their patients.

Nutrition information in Cantonese: case

Scenario

A middle aged man is referred to me. He leaves a phone message telling me he is interested in information on Type II Diabetes and diet in Cantonese for his father who is a patient at the Herzl.

Resolution

I search the following resources*:

The 24 languages project
Health Information Translations
Healthy Roads Media
HICUP
NLM Consumer Health Information in Many Languages Resources
SPIRAL

I am able to find some good information in Chinese on the SPIRAL site:

SPIRAL > Patient information by language > Chinese > select "diabetes"

Unfortunately I am not able to determine whether this information is specifically in Cantonese (health information is generally available in either traditional or simplified Chinese). I call the man back and he asks me to email the links and says he will ask his father whether he is able to read the information. I tell him I will be happy to continue looking if necessary. He then asks if I can find something that might help his father understand the different food groups and portion sizes. I do a web search using Google: canadian food guide chinese. The first hit is a copy of the guide translated into Chinese (pdf).

I email these links to the man including some information about navigating the SPIRAL site.

I place a copy of the consultation form in the attending physician's mailbox.

*All of these resources have been bookmarked in the list of public MyHq bookmarks I have created for myself and the Herzl health staff.

Total time: 20 mins

Discussion

I consider every encounter an opportunity to teach people how to find information and not just hand it over. At the very least I show the path from the resource's home page to the desired information. This also minimizes dead links.