Hospitals and consumer health information in New Zealand: the role of the library.

A research project was conducted with the primary objective of finding out what New Zealand hospitals are doing about providing consumer health information to patients, and specifically, the role played by hospital libraries. A database was compiled of all New Zealand hospitals, both public and privately funded. An individual responsible for consumer health information was identified at each hospital and a questionnaire sent directly to them. A 64% response rate was achieved, representing 196 hospitals. Fifty-four hospitals reported having an in-house Library or Information Centre for patients, but the materials and services provided varied widely. Results from this survey show that the provision of consumer health information in the hospital sector in New Zealand is ad hoc, and libraries are not necessarily involved.