Outreach 195 - Speaker Series: Genetics, Lifestyle Choices and the Environment Can Impact a Personal Health

Oftentimes academic universities, public libraries, and churches serve as cultural centers to communities that offer a variety of workshops to promote wellness and health awareness. Accordingly, Woodruff Health Sciences Center WHSC Library seeks to collaborate with library administrators from Clayton, Cobb, and Atlanta-Fulton County public library systems, student groups at Emory University, church parishioners from Wheat Street Baptist Church, and librarians from Georgia Tech and Georgia State to host a speaker series that will foster increased comprehension of genetics and how lifestyle choices and the environment can impact a persons health. Along with reviewing diverse genetic-related health topics, speakers will showcase diverse consumer health resources i.e. MedlinePlus, Genetics Home Reference, etc. and illustrate how patrons can utilize them to make more informed decisions about their health. A component of the proposed series includes hosting movie viewings of the film The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks with discussions about clinical trials and the importance of participating in ethical studies. The speaker series is comprised of topics including: what are clinical trials and how to enroll, NIHs research program, and the impact of genes and ones health. This project seeks to target communities of color who use these institutions for they are typically underrepresented in clinical trials and are often impacted the most by chronic illnesses that derive from changes in genetic health, lifestyle choices, and environmental factors.