HIV Rates Increasing In Salt Lake County, Utah
http://dailyreports.kff.org/Daily-Reports/2009/June/29/HIV-062909-Utah-Rates.aspx
HIV rates have been steadily increasing over the last three years in Salt Lake County, which includes Salt Lake City and surrounding areas, according to the Salt Lake Valley Health Department, the Deseret News reports. Health officials contend that lack of awareness of HIV, personal concern about becoming infected and sexual health discussions — especially among young adults — are driving the increase. Preliminary data indicate that the trend will continue in 2009, according to health officials. Stan Penfold, the executive director of the Utah AIDS Foundation, said, “Rates grow because there is a lack of conversation around HIV and what the risk factors are. It is really easy to compartmentalize because of the stigma associated with HIV, but the average age of infection is getting younger and younger,” he said. Lynn Beltran, STD and HIV program manager for the Salt Lake County Health Department, noted that sex education in high schools also is a concern, but added, “Everyone needs to educate themselves and understand how to make healthy decisions about sex” (Norlen, Deseret News, 6/28).

Nebraska Health Officials Promote Weeklong HIV Testing, Awareness Effort
http://dailyreports.kff.org/Daily-Reports/2009/June/29/HIV-062909-Nebraska-effort.aspx
The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services on Saturday began promoting HIV Testing Week, which runs through July 4, to encourage more residents to get tested, the Columbus Telegram reports. Some testing sites across the state will expand their hours or make other accommodations over the next week as part of the effort. One in three people living in Nebraska with HIV/AIDS is unaware of their status, according to state health officials (Ortiz, Columbus Telegram, 6/27). Nakiea Boetger of the Nebraska AIDS Project said among the challenges in raising HIV awareness in the state is addressing the misconception that rural communities are not affected by HIV/AIDS (AP/Action 3 News, 6/27). In related news, ABC News’ “Campus Chatter” blog examined HIV prevention efforts by organizations in Austin, Texas (Olivares, “Campus Chatter,” ABC News, 6/26).
[Kaiser Daily U.S. HIV/AIDS Report - Monday, June 29, 2009]

Think of the time you first knew that health literacy mattered. This realization may have come from an event, interaction, or experience you had perhaps as a patient, family member, friend, student, teacher, librarian, or health professional. Now go to the Health Literacy Month website http://www.healthliteracymonth.org/ to find how to can share your story through their website, email, twitter, facebook…

Are you at a community organization or library? How about helping people you serve send their story in. Have an event at your place where you bring people together to talk about their experiences and help them put it in writing and photos!

http://www.omhrc.gov/templates/content.aspx?lvl=2&lvlID=12&ID=7986
The Office of Minority Health on July 1, 2009 announced the release of its latest cultural competency e-learning program - Cultural Competency Curriculum for Disaster Preparedness and Crisis Response.

This set of courses is designed to integrate knowledge, attitudes, and skills related to cultural competency in order to help lessen racial and ethnic health care disparities brought on by disaster situations. [OMHRC E*NEWS FLASH!]

Reducing Obesity among Young African Americans. Reshaping Our Communities, Reclaiming Our Health: African Americans Define Strategies for Healthy Kids and Healthy Neighborhoods identifies barriers in the community setting that undermine health and wellness and recommends policy changes to promote healthy eating and physical activity. For more information, visit: http://www.leadershipforhealthycommunities.org/images/stories/lhc_aa_strategies_doc_for_the_web1.pdf

“Put a Lid on It” YouTube Video.  A video by David E. Corbin was selected as “Most Creative” in the National Safety Council, Greater Omaha Chapters Safety Icon video competition. The theme is about wearing helmets when you are involved in a situation in which impact is likely—whether at work or play. Helmets have been around for a long time. The video hopes to make helmets more acceptable especially for bicyclists. To view the video and the Omaha Metro Bike Blast, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlzqVwMZ444 and http://www.unomaha.edu/bikeblast

[posted in NAFH E-News #6- 2009]

US Department of State /Bureau of International Information Programs
Being Muslim in America 2009

http://www.america.gov/publications/books/being-muslim-in-america.html

American With a Muslim Soul
A leader in the interfaith movement writes about what he calls the American ethos - the mixing of tolerance and reverence.

Building a Life in America
With freedom, faith, and hard work, each successive wave of immigrants has added its distinctive contributions to the American story.  And today, this story is the Muslim-American story too.

Statistical Portrait
Some statistics on the extraordinary Muslim American mosaic of ethnic, linguistic, ideological, social, economic, and religious groups.

Amy’s Courage Fund
http://www.raconline.org/funding/funding_details.php?funding_id=1234
Application deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis.
Provides emergency financial assistance to victims of domestic violence and their children to meet their immediate needs after escaping an abusive home.

Do Something Plum Youth Grants
http://www.raconline.org/funding/funding_details.php?funding_id=1878
Application deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis.
Funding for sustainable community action projects, programs or organizations.

FedEx Social Responsibility Program
http://www.raconline.org/funding/funding_details.php?funding_id=904
Application deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis.
Core giving areas are emergency and disaster relief, pedestrian and child safety, education, and health and human services.

Jenny’s Heroes Community Grant Program
http://www.raconline.org/funding/funding_details.php?funding_id=2044
Application deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis.
Grants to individuals who submit the best ideas for tangible, lasting community projects.

Libri Books for Children Program
http://www.raconline.org/funding/funding_details.php?funding_id=149
Application deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis.
Donates new, quality, hardcover children’s books for small, rural public libraries in the United States.

National School Lunch/After School Snack Program
http://www.raconline.org/funding/funding_details.php?funding_id=1545
Application deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis.
Funding to provide nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches to children each school day.

School Breakfast Program (SBP)
http://www.raconline.org/funding/funding_details.php?funding_id=1546
Application deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis.
Provides cash assistance to States to operate nonprofit breakfast programs in schools and residential childcare institutions.

Summer Food Service Program
http://www.raconline.org/funding/funding_details.php?funding_id=458
Application deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis.
Funding to provide free, nutritious meals and snacks to help children in low-income areas get the nutrition they need during the summer months.

Brookdale Foundation National Group Respite Program
http://www.raconline.org/funding/funding_details.php?funding_id=910
Application deadline: Jul 1, 2009
Awards consist of seed grants to service providers that offer new, dementia-specific adult day programming to participants, along with support to caregivers, in order to help individuals remain in their homes.

2009 Mary Kay Ash Shelter Grant Program
http://www.raconline.org/funding/funding_details.php?funding_id=1176
Application deadline: Jul 30, 2009
Grants to women’s shelters for victims of domestic violence.

Technology Grants for Rural Schools
http://www.raconline.org/funding/funding_details.php?funding_id=932
Application deadline: Sep 14, 2009
Technology Grants for Rural Schools program was created to help meet the growing need for innovative technology in the classroom. {See this PDF to see if your town is eligible for this grant http://www.fred.org/pdfs/FRED%20Program%20Eligibility.pdf }

Leading Lights Diversity Awards for Nonprofit Diversity Leadership
http://www.raconline.org/funding/funding_details.php?funding_id=2166
Application deadline: Sep 30, 2009
Awards that celebrate exemplary leaders in the nonprofit sector whose demonstrated courage, innovation and commitment to diversity light a path to a more inclusive society.

Presbyterian Hunger Program
http://www.raconline.org/funding/funding_details.php?funding_id=1803
Application deadline: Oct 31, 2009
The Presbyterian Hunger Program provides grants in the five areas: 1) Direct Food Relief; 2) Development Assistance; 3) Influencing Public Policy; 4) Life-style Integrity; and 5) Education and Interpretation.

[posted on Rural Assistance Center Human Services Update]

John W. Lynch, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.Ed. Sam Harper, Ph.D.
McGill University, and produced by the Michigan Public Health Training Center (MPHTC)
Center for Social Epidemiology and Population Health, and Prevention Research Center of Michigan
Website: http://www.sitemaker.umich.edu/mhd/home

This interactive course focuses on some basic issues for public health practice — how to understand, define and measure health disparity. This course examines the language of health disparity to come to some common understanding of what that term means, explains key measures of health disparity and shows how to calculate them. This computer-based course provides a durable tool that is useful to daily activities in the practice of public health. [posted on PAHO/WHO Equity list]

(I was able to download this onto my desktop and started the course.  You can also order a CD-Rom.)

http://guides.lib.umich.edu/healthliteracy
From the University of Michigan Library
This Guide has been created for the health professional who wants to:

• Improve communication with patients and others
• Teach themselves or other health professionals about health literacy and clear communication

Section titles of the guide include: Background Information, Data, Definitions; Screening and Identification; “How to” write readable materials; and more. [posted on HealthLiteracy listserv]

Condom Distribution Program In Los Angeles County Jail Might Be Expanded
http://dailyreports.kff.org/Daily-Reports/2009/June/30/HIV-063009-Condoms.aspx
Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca is considering expanding an eight-year-old program at Men’s Central Jail that distributes condoms in a unit for gay men, the Los Angeles Times reports. Under the program, an outreach worker from the nonprofit Center for Health Justice visits the jail once weekly to distribute about one condom per inmate to the unit’s 300 inmates. Baca is considering doubling the number of condoms being distributed. Sheriff Department officials acknowledge that HIV is a problem in county jails and spend about $2 million annually on HIV/AIDS medication and identify about 65 new cases of HIV each month, according to the Times. Steve Whitmore, a spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Department, said, “Sex in jails is against the law, but there is a public health issue that needs to be considered.” A separate condom distribution program is being piloted at the California State Prison at Solano (Bloomekatz, Los Angeles Times 6/29). [posted on Kaiser Daily U.S. HIV/AIDS Report - Tuesday, June 30, 2009]

Health Literacy 1st Annual Research Conference
Call for Papers
October 19-20, 2009
Washington, DC

The Health Literacy Annual Research Conference will be an interdisciplinary meeting for investigators dedicated to health literacy research.  It will be an opportunity to advance the field of health literacy, a method to raise the quality of our research, and a venue for professional development. The aim is to attract a full range of investigators engaged in health literacy research including faculty involved in a broad array of public health, health services, epidemiology, translational, and interventional research activities.

Abstract submission is now open!  Deadline 5pm (EST) August 19, 2009.
Website with meeting information: http://www.bumc.bu.edu/healthliteracyconference/

A nominal registration fee will apply
For more information, or to submit your abstracts, please email healthliteracyconference@bmc.org