Health Brochures Now Available in Audio Format for the Blind

The Utah Department of Health (UDOH), Office of Health Disparities (OHD) has collaborated with the Utah State Library Program for the Blind and Disabled (USL) to create an online collection of audio health materials. The collection includes mp3 recordings of 39 health brochures covering a variety of chronic diseases, guidelines for healthy aging, and concerns specific to the sight-impaired population, such as diabetic retinopathy and safe exercise for people with vision problems.

The audio resources for the blind have been added to the OHD Multilingual Library, an online collection of health resources in 50 languages, which is available at http://health.utah.gov/disparities/multilinguallibrary/index.php.

The Multilingual Library has been a popular source for health materials in a variety of languages since 2006. OHD recently expanded the Library to accommodate English- language materials for special populations such as the blind. 

“The Multilingual Library is an excellent online resource to educate non-English speakers,” said Dr. David Patton, UDOH Executive Director. “We are really pleased to expand the library to reach additional populations with specific needs.” 

A multidisciplinary team first envisioned the project at a meeting of OHD, USL and local health department staff members. The USL lacked resources about health. OHD had an expansive collection of health materials in the Multilingual Library, but no audio for the blind. Together, they researched the health needs of blind library patrons using library intake forms (documents filled out by library users when looking for materials). OHD staff selected quality health brochures appropriate to meet these needs. USL volunteers read the brochures aloud to create audio recordings.

"These health-related articles are a valuable addition to the Utah State Library, Health Department, and Division of Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired web sites," said State Librarian Donna Jones Morris. "This partnership allows the link to these resources to be viewed on all three web sites."

The Resources for the Blind section of the Multilingual Library can be accessed at: http://health.utah.gov/disparities/multilinguallibrary/Target/Blind.php.