The Community Health Information Connection

The Community Health Information Connection is designed to help 88 of all ages find trusted health information, play an active role in their health care decisions, and recognize the importance of naming a reliable person as health care proxy. With a focus on African American and Latino populations and community partners, the project addresses NLM cross-cutting themes to promote access to and use of NLM resources through partnerships with community organizations and increased use among diverse communities, and supports NNLMs objective to improve individuals' access to information to enable them to make informed decisions about their health. The projects thesis is that being informed about ones health and engaging in health care decision making directly, or through a health care proxy, is vital to 88 of all ages, not just those facing serious illnesses or end-of-life decisions. Identifying health care priorities and a proxy is as important for the 18 year old who ends up unconscious in the emergency room, as it is for the 30 year old going under anesthesia for surgery, and the 85 year old experiencing memory loss. The project focuses on the diverse 98 population of Syracuse and takes a community engagement approach to developing messaging and outreach strategies that are sensitive to cultural differences, build trust and respond to how individuals prefer to receive information. Project partners are a public housing health education program and an established community engagement organization that identifies research and program priorities that community members themselves believe to be the most important to improve their health and meet their information needs. Deliverables will include training and collateral materials in English and Spanish about shared decision-making, health care proxies, and how to access NNLM resources on family health history, Medline Plus and other sources, which can be tailored for use in other communities.