> African
>
>  American
>
>  Community
>
>    Health

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Information you can use to improve your health and the health of your
community

 

**Objectives**

By the end of the session you will be able to:

-   Navigate MedlinePlus.gov to find basic and African American Health
    Information

-   Read about genetic conditions affecting African Americans

-   Search for household product ingredients

-   Identify other reliable health information resources

-   Find resources for community outreach and funding

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> **Agenda**

I.  Introductions (10 minutes)

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I.  Health Disparities (10 minutes)

II. Information is Power and finding Reliable Sources (10 minutes)

III. Reliable sources -- Part I: NLM.gov (35 minutes)

IV. Break (5 minutes)

V.  Reliable sources -- Part II: Other Health Resources on the Web (15
    minutes)

VI. Community Outreach Basics (15 minutes)

VII. Funding (5 minutes)

VIII. Wrap Up (10 minutes)

**National Library of Medicine (NLM)**

-   The world\'s largest medical library

-   MEDLINE is a premier bibliographic database produced by NLM that
    contains approximately 13 million references to journal articles in
    life sciences with a concentration on biomedicine.

-   PubMed provides free access to MEDLINE, NLM's database of more than
    13 million bibliographic citations and abstracts.

-   750 million searches of MEDLINE are done each year by health
    professionals, scientists, librarians, and the public.

-   NLM also produces a web site for consumer health information,
    MedlinePlus.gov.

**National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM)**

-   NLM conducts much of its outreach in partnership with other
    libraries and community organizations across the nation.

-   NLM supports many of its health information outreach projects
    through the NN/LM program.

-   The mission of NN/LM is to advance the progress of medicine and
    improve the public health by providing all U.S. health professionals
    equal access to biomedical information.

-   NN/LM wants to improve the public\'s access to information to enable
    them to make informed decisions about their health.

Advancing the progress of medicine and improving the public health
through access to health information. Join the network or find local
resources by calling us at 1-800-338-7657.

-   ![](media/image3.jpeg){width="5.207638888888889in"
    height="3.467361111111111in"}

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-   [Greater Midwest Region](http://nnlm.gov/gmr/)

-   [MidContinental Region](http://nnlm.gov/mcr/)

-   [Middle Atlantic Region](http://nnlm.gov/mar/)

-   [New England Region](http://nnlm.gov/ner/)

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-   [Pacific Northwest Region](http://nnlm.gov/pnr/)

-   [Pacific Southwest Region](http://nnlm.gov/psr/)

-   [South Central Region](http://nnlm.gov/scr/)

-   [Southeastern/Atlantic Region](http://nnlm.gov/sea/)

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**Health Disparities**

A health disparity should be viewed as a chain of events signified by
difference in:

1)  Environment

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1)  Access to, utilization of, and quality of care

2)  Health Status, or a

3)  Particular Health Outcome that deserves scrutiny (Carter-Pokras)

"Health disparities are differences in the incidence, prevalence,
mortality, and burden of diseases and other adverse health conditions
that exist among specific population groups in the United States"
(Addressing Health Disparities)

Factors contributing to poor health outcomes among African Americans
include discrimination, cultural barriers, and lack of access to health
care. (The Health Care Challenge)

**What does this means to African Americans?**

African Americans are more like to receive poorer quality care than
Whites (National Healthcare Disparities Report)

African Americans have the highest cancer incidence and mortality rates
in the United States (Siminoff)

African Americas infant death rate is nearly 2 and a half times that of
White infants (Addressing Health Disparities)

 The incidence of stroke is double in African Americans compared to
White Americans (Pandey)

**Please Rank the Ten Leading Causes of death for African Americans**

-   **Unintentional injury**

-   **Cancer**

-   **Stroke**

-   **Chronic lower respiratory diseases**

-   **Septicemia**

-   **Diabetes**

-   **Nephritis**

-   **Heart Disease**

-   **Human immunodeficiency virus**

-   **Homicide**

**Answers**

-   **1. Heart Disease**

-   **2. Cancer**

-   **3. Stroke**

-   **4. Diabetes**

-   **5. Unintentional Injury**

-   **6. Homicide**

-   **7. Chronic lower respiratory disease**

-   **8. Human immunodeficiency virus**

-   **9. Nephritis**

-   **10. Septicemia**

**Why quality health information?**

Information is Power

![](media/image6.png){width="6.5in" height="3.875in"}

**How do I find quality health information on the internet?**

**Authority, Accuracy, and Audience**

-   Look at the organization\'s mission and "about us" page.

-   Look at the authorship and sponsorship of the site.

-   Is the information provided appropriate to the audience level,
    well-organized and easy to use?

**Availability, Maintained, and**

-   Up-to-date

-   The Web site maintains its links and the links are not broken.

-   The source for the contents of the Web page(s) and the entity

> responsible for maintaining the Web site (webmaster, organization,
>
> creator of the content) is clear.

-   Information is current or an update date is included.

-   Registration is not required to view the information on the site.

**Special features**

-   The site provides unique information to the topic with a minimum of
    redundancy and overlap between resources.

**Has there been a situation with a family member or friend where
additional information was needed to make a health care decision?**

-   Wellness

-   Health Condition/ Disease

-   Medication/ drugs

-   Prenatal Health

-   Children

-   Elderly

-   Health Directories

MedlinePlus.gov             
![](media/image7.png){width="3.1979166666666665in"
height="0.5208333333333334in"}

-   Easy to Use

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-   Reliable and Up-to-Date

-   Updated Daily

-   No Advertisements

-   No Product or Company Endorsement

![](media/image8.png){width="2.3020833333333335in"
height="1.6979166666666667in"}![](media/image9.png){width="2.4479166666666665in"
height="1.1875in"}![](media/image10.png){width="2.5729166666666665in"
height="3.1458333333333335in"}

![](media/image11.png){width="2.09375in"
height="3.1666666666666665in"}Drugs, Supplements and Herbal
Information - Prescription and over-the-counter medication information
is from MedMaster™^†^, a product of the American Society of
Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) and USP DI® Advice for the Patient®
^‡^, a product of the United States Pharmacopeia (USP). Information on
herbs and supplements is from Natural Standard©\*.

Directories - MedlinePlus provides links to over 100 directories to help
you find health professionals, services and facilities, including
Hospital Comparison from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and
Assisted living or residential care facility from National Center for
Assisted Living.

Go Local -- a service for finding local resources for health-related
issues. Select an area from the map below to search for health services
and topics.

**Practice Questions:**

-   John is having a CAT Scan and wants to find information on the
    procedure. Where would you find this information?

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-   Cassandra takes St. John's Wort for depression. She wants to know if
    there is scientific evidence for the use of this herb. Where would
    you find this information?

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-   What is a Hgb S test? What is the normal value?

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-   Compare two hospitals in the Venice, Florida area for Surgical Care
    Improvement/Surgical Infection Prevention

**Other NLM Resources**

ClinicalTrials.gov - provides patients, family members, health care
professionals, and members of the public easy access to information on
clinical trials for a wide range of diseases and conditions.

NIH SeniorHealth - aging-related health information easily accessible
for family members and friends seeking reliable, easy to understand
online health information.

Household Products Database - a consumer\'s guide that provides
information on the potential health effects of chemicals contained in
more than 6,000 common household products used inside and around the
home.

Genetics Home Reference - the National Library of Medicine\'s Web site
for consumer information about genetic conditions and the genes or
chromosomes responsible for those conditions.

**Practice Questions:**

-   Are companies recruiting for people who have had heart attacks in
    Sarasota? If so, how many? Is there an age limit?

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-   Karen is 70 years old and is nervous about having cataract surgery.
    Find a video about a person's experience with cataract surgery.

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-   What is one acute health effect from Listerine Antiseptic Mouthwash?

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-   According to Genetics Home Reference, Sickle Cell Anemia occurs in:

    -   1 in every 100 African Americans

    -   1 in every 500 African Americans

    -   1 in every 5,000 African Americans

**Other Reliable Sources**

-   General Health

    -   Center for Disease Control (CDC)

        -   http://www.cdc.gov/omhd/Populations/BAA/BAA.htm

    -   Health Finder

        -   http://www.healthfinder.gov/justforyou/justforyou.asp?KeyWordID=215&branch=1

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-   AIDS/ HIV

    -   AIDS.gov

        -   <http://www.aids.gov/target/minority/index.html#african>

    -   CDC

        -   <http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/aa/index.htm>

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-   Cancer

    -   National Cancer Institute

        -   <http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/disparities>

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-   Diabetes

    -   American Diabetes Association

        -   <http://www.diabetes.org/communityprograms-and-localevents/africanamericans.jsp>

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-   Heart Health

    -   American Heart Association

        -   <http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3025278>

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-   Mental Health

    -   Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
        (SAMHSA)

        -   <http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/cre/resource1.asp>

        -   <http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/cre/fact1.asp>

        -   

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-   Stroke

    -   American Stroke Association

        -   <http://www.strokeassociation.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3030549>

**Community Outreach Basics**

Outreach is:

1 : the act of reaching out\
2 : the extent or limit of reach \<the outreach of the Ohio floods \--
Clifton Johnson\>\
3 : the extending of services or assistance beyond current or usual
limits \<an outreach program\>; also : the extent of such services or
assistance -© 2006 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

Websites

**Public Libraries and Community Partners**: **Working together to
provide health information** - <http://nnlm.gov/outreach/community/> - A
guide to encourage health information partnerships between public
libraries, the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, and local
health or community-based organizations.

**Community Tool Box** - <http://ctb.ku.edu/> - Community Tool Box (CTB)
provides over 6,000 pages of practical information to support your work
in promoting community health and development.

**Healthy People Library Project** -
[http://www.healthlit.org/index.htm](http://www.healthlit.org/index.htm ) -
Healthy People Library Project is designed to provide minority groups
and other consumers easy access to current, reliable information on
selected health topics at their local libraries.

**Thrive** - <http://www.preventioninstitute.org/thrive/index.php> -
THRIVE is a tool to help you understand and prioritize the factors
within your own community that can help improve health and safety. 

**Practice Questions**

-   According to Public Libraries and Community Partnerships, what is
    the role of public libraries with community partners?

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-   According to Healthy People Library Project, what are some tips for
    librarians who are interested in outreach?

-   On the Thrive website, what are the root factors that shape
    community environment?

-   According to the Community Toolbox, where can you find information
    about writing a grant application?

**Funding**

![](media/image13.png){width="4.479166666666667in"
height="1.3020833333333333in"}

<http://www.grants.gov/> - The single access point for over 1,000 grant
programs offered by all Federal grant making agencies.

### [**http://fundingopps.cos.com/about/fundingopps.shtml**](http://fundingopps.cos.com/about/fundingopps.shtml) - The largest, most comprehensive database of available funding.

### [**http://nnlm.gov/funding/**](http://nnlm.gov/funding/) - Regional Funding Opportunities from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine

**NN/LM Funding**

-   Exhibit Awards

-   Training Awards

-   Welcome Awards

-   Express Outreach Awards

-   Express Planning Awards

-   Outreach Project Awards

-   Express Follow-up Awards

**Past NN/LM Projects**

-   For ideas, see past funded projects at

-   <http://nnlm.gov/sea/funding/projects.html>

**Bibliography:**

*Addressing Health Disparities: The NIH Program of Action*, 2001.
National

> Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD. 
> http://healthdisparities.nih.gov/welcome.html

Carter-Pokras O, Baquet, C, *What is a "health disparity"?,* Public
Health Reports,

2002 Sep-Oct; 117(5):426-34.

Darnell JS, Chang CH, Calhoun EA. *Knowledge about breast cancer and*

> *participation in a faith-based breast cancer program and other
> predictors of mammography screening among African American women and
> Latinas.* Health promotion practice. 2006 Jul;7(3 Suppl):201S-12S.
> Epub 2006 Jun 7.

Fox, S. Online Health Search 2006: *Most internet users start at a
search engine*

> *when looking for health information online.* Report accessed November
> 15, 2006 at http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Online_Health_2006.pdf

Gordon HS, Street RL Jar, Sharf BF, Souchek J. *Racial differences in
doctors\'*

> *information-giving and patients\' participation.* Cancer. 2006 Sep
> 15;107(6):1313-20

*National Healthcare Disparities Report*, 2006. Agency for Healthcare
Research

and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nhdr06/nhdr06.htm

Pandey DK, Gorelick PB*, Epidemiology of Stroke in African Americans
and*

*Hispanic Americans*, Medical Clinics of North America, 2005,
89:739-752.

Siminoff LA, Ross, L, *Access and equality to cancer care in the USA: a
review*

*and assessment*, Postgraduate Medicine Journal 2005; 81:674-679

*The Health Care Challenge: Acknowledging Disparity, Confronting*

> *Discrimination, and Ensuring Equality*. United States Commission on
> Civil Rights, Sept. 1999.

Treadwell MJ, McCullough L, Vishinski E. *Using qualitative and
quantitative*

> *strategies to evaluate knowledge and perceptions about sickle cell
> disease and sickle cell trait*. Journal of the National Medical
> Association. 2006 May;98(5):704-10.