Outreach 339 North Carolina Engage for Health - Phase 1

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill UNC Health Sciences Library HSL, part of the University Libraries, will implement a training program for library staff, students, and the public using and adapting the NNLM Engage for Health curriculum, and the Middle Atlantic Region of NNLMs class, entitled, Patient Empowerment: Using Health Information Resources to Improve Health Communication. First, we will train library staff in 95 county public libraries in North Carolina on the Engage for Health curriculum and health literacy principles, enabling them to better provide health information instruction and reference services. Second, we will train interprofessional students at UNC on Engage for Health, health literacy concepts, and NLM information resources for healthcare consumers. Finally, we will partner with the public librarians and interprofessional healthcare students to train the public in these 95 counties on the Engage for Health curriculum, helping them find free, authoritative heath information and improve their communication with healthcare providers. This program will contribute to the mission of the NNLM by improving access to health information for 95 populations in North Carolina, enabling individuals to better communicate with healthcare providers and make more informed decisions about their health and healthcare, and training librarians and future healthcare providers to make use of NLM resources to improve health outcomes.