Libraries as Hubs for Citizen Science: Partnering with Academia to Improve the Health of Communities

Radon is a leading cause of lung cancer. Many living in rural communities lack access to home radon testing and adequate and affordable mitigation. Community-academic partnerships provide opportunities to achieve health equity by drawing upon respective strengths, expertise, and local knowledge.

Please join NNLM and guest speakers King Simpson and Stacy Stanifer while they discuss their unique partnership.

Logan County (Kentucky) Public Library will discuss its innovative partnership with the University of Kentucky to engage community members as citizen scientists and develop a novel library lending program for digital home radon detectors to reduce barriers to home radon testing in four rural counties (R01ES030380). Preliminary data evaluating the program will be presented.

King Simpson, MSLS, serves as the Director of the Logan County Public Library located in Russellville, KY and Site Principal Investigator (PI) for Radon on the RADAR. As Site PI, Mr. Simpson leads the community-academic team in Logan County to support public health initiatives and achieve social justice in his rural community.

Stacy Stanifer, PhD, APRN, AOCNS is an Assistant Professor in the University of Kentucky College of Nursing and serves as project manager and co-investigator for Radon on the RADAR. As a nurse scientist, Dr. Stanifer's research focuses on cancer prevention by reducing exposure to radon and tobacco. As project manager, Dr. Stanifer oversees all aspects of the study and works closely with Site PIs to coordinate public health efforts in the respective communities.