Start Date
6-10-2021 9:00 AM
End Date
6-10-2021 10:30 AM
Type of Work
Poster
Description
Objective: This poster discusses library collaboration with a community center to promote health as a profession and promote health information literacy in the African American community.
Methods: Library staff reached out to a local community center with the intention of introducing the health professions to students in the community. The library scheduled medical, pharmacy and physical therapy students to do unique classes for different ages of children. This relationship developed into further classes involving librarians who did health literacy classes for seniors in the community center and sponsored exercise classes and became involved in health fairs in the center. This effort expanded into the churches. The medical library was able to obtain multiple NNLM grants and was given a permanent room in the community center which serves as a teaching center with five personal computers, a screen, projector, instructor’s station, print materials, and blood pressure machine.
Results: As a result of this collaboration relationships were developed with the local African American community which resulted in a medical school wide initiative to recruit African American males to become physicians using the “Dr. Dale” video and recruiting former minority medical school graduates to speak. This event was targeted towards high school and undergraduate students as well as the parents of K-8 students.
Conclusions and Lessons Learned: Librarians can have a substantial role in the community when it comes to reaching out to underserved populations. It takes commitment, time, and creativity. This type of work is very rewarding. Medical Libraries need to be involved in solving the problem of the decline of black doctors in the U.S. since 1978.
'I Can Become a Doctor Too'. Medical Libraries Influence on Community Health and Education
Objective: This poster discusses library collaboration with a community center to promote health as a profession and promote health information literacy in the African American community.
Methods: Library staff reached out to a local community center with the intention of introducing the health professions to students in the community. The library scheduled medical, pharmacy and physical therapy students to do unique classes for different ages of children. This relationship developed into further classes involving librarians who did health literacy classes for seniors in the community center and sponsored exercise classes and became involved in health fairs in the center. This effort expanded into the churches. The medical library was able to obtain multiple NNLM grants and was given a permanent room in the community center which serves as a teaching center with five personal computers, a screen, projector, instructor’s station, print materials, and blood pressure machine.
Results: As a result of this collaboration relationships were developed with the local African American community which resulted in a medical school wide initiative to recruit African American males to become physicians using the “Dr. Dale” video and recruiting former minority medical school graduates to speak. This event was targeted towards high school and undergraduate students as well as the parents of K-8 students.
Conclusions and Lessons Learned: Librarians can have a substantial role in the community when it comes to reaching out to underserved populations. It takes commitment, time, and creativity. This type of work is very rewarding. Medical Libraries need to be involved in solving the problem of the decline of black doctors in the U.S. since 1978.