Increasing Inner-City Access to Health Information

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM), in collaboration with a consortium of community-based organizations (CBOs) and the Department of Biomedical Informatics of Columbia University, proposes this "Increasing Inner-City Access to Health Information" project in order to reduce disparities in access to health information experienced by disadvantaged inner-city residents. The project will add a low-cost and sustainable health information outreach component to existing social services programs in CBOs. The specific aims of the project are to: 1. Develop a bilingual train-the-trainer health information outreach program and tailor it to senior centers and Head Start programs. 2. Create a web site and listservs to enable Head Start and senior center program participants, staff and volunteers to contribute to the continuing development and enhancement of the health information outreach program. 3. Characterize patterns of health-information seeking behavior of participating seniors and Head Start parents before and after the health information outreach program using a combination of quantitative and qualitative techniques. Train the- trainer classes will be based on NYAM's "Health Information on the Internet" course with a focus on bilingual consumer health resources available from the National Library of Medicine and NOAH - New York Online Access to Health. 24 CBO staff and 84 program participants will be trained during the course of the project, with 1/3 having Spanish as their primary language. NYAM is an independent, non-profit institution, committed since 1847 to enhancing the health of the public through research, education and advocacy. NYAM's Division of Information Management is responsible for developing innovative strategies for disseminating health information to professionals and the public, with a special concern for reducing urban health disparities.