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FY 2007 AIDS Community Information Outreach Projects

NLM Funds 13 AIDS Community Information Outreach Projects in September 2007 in the 14th Round of the Program

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) funded 13 AIDS Community Information Outreach Projects in September 2007 in the 14th round of the program. NLM has continued its HIV/AIDS– related outreach efforts to community-based organizations, patient advocacy groups, faith-based organizations, departments of health, and libraries. This program provides support to design local programs for improving information access for HIV/AIDS patients and the affected community as well as their caregivers. Emphasis is on providing information or access in a way meaningful to the target community. Projects must involve one or more of the following information access categories: information retrieval, skills development, Internet access, resource development, and document access.

Awards were made for the following projects:

Standard Awards – Up to $60,000


AIDS Education Global Information System (AEGiS) “Project Restore/Expanded Access II” (San Juan Capistrano, CA)

The AIDS Education Global Information System (AEGiS) is a nonprofit organization that was established in the 1980’s in response to the growing HIV/AIDS pandemic, and continues to disseminate AIDS-related clinical information and late-breaking news to those in need and isolated by geographical location. The “Project Restore/Expanded Access” project plans to facilitate access to current patient/clinician information, specific to HIV/AIDS, via state-of-the-art technology and preserve a global history of the pandemic with AEGIS’s historical news and treatment database. The internet-based library has more than 1,000,000 documents that address the HIV/AIDS pandemic from 1981 to the present. AIDS Education Global Information System (AEGiS): http://www.aegis.org.

Center for AIDS Information & Advocacy “Project AIR 2007” (Houston, Texas)

Founded in 1995, the Center for AIDS Information & Advocacy (CFA) is a community-based nonprofit organization dedicated to providing the latest, most up–to–date HIV/AIDS research, disease, and treatment information. With three funded projects from NLM since 2001, the CFA has developed and expanded Project AIR (AIDS Information Roadshow), an innovative outreach program that promotes health literacy and empowers clients affected by HIV/AIDS to take an active role in caring for themselves. Individuals learn to locate and assess reliable HIV/AIDS information sources in local libraries, the Internet and through the NLM’s MedlinePlus. Phase II of this project will focus on the train-the-trainer approach by providing advanced training as computer/Internet users and peer educators, and the peer educators will train the community to access HIV/AIDS information. This train–the–trainer component will exponentially extend Project AIR’s reach, improving lives, health, and communities throughout Houston and Harris County. The Center for AIDS Information Advocacy: http://centerforaids.org

Family Health Centers of San Diego “Positive Connections Website Enhancement Project” (San Diego, California)

The Positive Connections website enhancement project will focus on improving and increasing access to current HIV/AIDS care and treatment information and additional resource linkages through targeted efforts to HIV positive, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender men and women residing in San Diego County. The project will utilize existing tools such as the Gay Men’s Health website and explore various social media channels in order to broaden the scope of the audience to include HIV positive individuals. Family Health Centers of San Diego: http://www.fhcsd.org

Huston-Tillotson University “The HT Community Health Empowerment Online Project” (Austin, Texas)

The Huston–Tillotson University (HTU), a Historically Black College and University, has gained a significant reputation as an online health information access training/educational support system and resource for the East Austin community as exemplified by a successful, previously funded NLM project which trained over 1,000 individuals and/organizations on how to find and access HIV/AIDS information. The HTU will build upon its existing campus and community HIV/AIDS outreach work and combine its resources and technological expertise to partner with local community and state HIV/AIDS and related health organizations. The HT Community Health Empowerment Online Project will continue partnership with HTU to empower the underserved East Austin community with improved access to current and accurate on–line HIV/AID related information by expanding to the Hispanic population and tailoring culturally appropriate resources to this community. The continuation/expansion project will include: train–the–trainer consumer health advocacy certification and curriculum to provide online health informational access education and evaluation constituents, and the community health WEB page and 1800 line consumer support resource. The HT Health Connection: http://hc.htu.edu

Philadelphia FIGHT/The AIDS Library “E-LEARN: The Electronic Library Education and AIDS Resource Network” (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

The AIDS Library, a program of Philadelphia FIGHT, a comprehensive AIDS Service Organization, has succeeded over the years in providing access to the Internet to people living with HIV/AIDS in the Greater Philadelphia Metropolitan Region. The AIDS library seeks funding from the NLM in order to create an online HIV/AIDS learning network to bring access and structured learning to the extensive array of treatment information and resources available through the AIDS Library website and the Internet. Through this medium, the AIDS Library will move beyond the traditional push approach to information management and will encourage the community to participate in classes where meaningful learning and discussion take place. The AIDS Library: http://www.aidslibrary.org

Pacific Resources for Education and Learning “Enhanced HIV/AIDS Prevention in the Pacific” (Honolulu, Hawaii)

The purpose of this project is to provide librarians, educators, public health personnel, and other community members in the U.S.–affiliated Pacific with training on how to access and retrieve state–of–the–art HIV/AIDS–related information from tools appropriate to the U.S.–affiliated Pacific such as CD–ROMs, PubMed and EBSCO’s health databases. Training courses will be presented at the annual Pacific Educational Conference (PEC), the annual Pacific Islands Association of Libraries, Archives and Museums (PIALA) Conference, meetings of the Pacific Islands Health Officers Association (PIHOA), and other appropriate venues. Pacific Resources for Education and Learning will also work with its network of partners to distribute resource materials via community–based organizations. Pacific Resources for Education and Learning: http://www.prel.org

Public Health – Seattle & King County “Creating and Maintaining an Empowered HIV/AIDS Community through Information Access” (Seattle, Washington)

The HIV/AIDS Program of Public Health–Seattle King County (PHSKC) will improve access to HIV/AIDS information by patients, affected communities, their caregivers, persons at high risk for HIV infection, HIV prevention organizations, and the general public. The “Creating & Maintaining an Empowered HIV/AIDS Community through Information Access” project will accomplish the following goals: 1) Provide training and skills development on how to find and use accurate and reliable HIV/AIDS information to CBOs, public health staff, and people at risk or living with HIV/AIDS; 2) Develop a user–friendly guide to access HIV/AIDS journals found in the PHSKC Digital Library; 3) Utilize email listservs and the Internet to create and distribute HIV/AIDS information; 4) Provide technical assistance to local HIV/AIDS organization on information gathering and dissemination; and 5) Provide document access and delivery through the HIV/AIDS Resource Center & Library to public health and CBO staff. Public Health Seattle & King County – HIV/AIDS Program: http://www.metrokc.gov/health/apu

SisterLove, Inc. “Positive Connections Center for Women” (Atlanta, Georgia)

Sisterlove, Inc., founded in 1989, has a long history of providing prevention information, education, interventions, support, advocacy and resources to African American women at risk and/or living with HIV/AIDS. Sisterlove will launch Positive Connections, a community-based socio–cultural networking website and internet service for underserved populations of HIV positive women in Metro Atlanta. The project will accomplish the following goals: 1) use cutting edge technology as a means to create online support groups and educational and training workshops through live broadcasts; 2) provide a community–based virtual learning center for women to access online or in person; and 3) increase awareness and utilization of current HIV/AIDS related websites that provide information regarding treatment, prevention, support, research and advocacy. Sisterlove, Inc.: http://www.sisterlove.org and http://www.sisterwisdom.org

Test Positive Aware Network “Peer Empowerment Education Referral Station (PEERS) Online” (Chicago, Illinois)

The Test Positive Aware Network (TPAN) and the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) collaborated in 2007 to launch PEERSpeak, which provides online access to five peer–developed and professionally reviewed modules on HIV self care. This year, the PEERS Online project seeks funding from NLM in order continue/expand the PEERSpeak project to reach a special population, HIV–positive men and women recently released from the corrections system. The new PEERSpeak modules can also be used as a self–paced training format for Peer Navigators working with HIV–positive clients in both clinical and social service settings as well as a source of information and support for family and friends of those newly diagnosed with HIV. AIDS Foundation of Chicago: http://www.aidschicago.org Test Positive Aware Network: http://www.tpan.com

Express Awards – Up to $10,000


Community Health Action of Staten Island (CHASI) “Community HIV/AIDS Information Network (CHAIN)” (Staten Island, New York)

The Community Health Action Staten Island (CHASI) is a not for profit organization that provides HIV outreach, education, prevention and direct services for populations most vulnerable and affected – youth, substance users, people of color, and LGBT community. Through this project, CHASI plans to establish a Community HIV/AIDS Information Network (CHAIN) on its 40 foot Mobile Health Unit that provides HIV prevention and wraparound health and support services to Staten Island communities of highest seroprevelance. Through individual information retrieval sessions, one–on–one web–based tutorials and small group workshops, CHAIN will increase HIV/AIDS knowledge and improve access to HIV/AIDS information and resources for the community. Community Health Action of Staten Island: http://www.sihealthaction.org

Maricopa Integrated Health System (MIHS) “HIV Community Information Outreach Project” (Phoenix, Arizona)

The goal of the Maricopa Integrated Health System’s (MIHS) HIV Community Information Outreach Project is to disseminate HIV/AIDS resource information to Maricopa County’s underserved HIV infected and affected population, and present HIV/AIDS information and resources in a culturally relevant and easy to understand format for low literacy populations. MIHS will develop an on-line tutorial instructing users how to access healthcare information on–line and empower them to take a more active role in their healthcare. Maricopa Integrated Health System: http://www.mihs.org

Metropolitan Washington Public Health Association “Community Health Advocates: Outreach and Education” (Washington, DC)

The Community Health Advocates: Outreach and Education program, led by the Metropolitan Washington Public Health Association’s (MWPHA) Health Disparities Committee that is composed of community members, health workers, and public health students, organizes grassroots outreach and education in the Ward 8 neighborhood of the District of Columbia. The project also partners with the Washington Highlands Public Library which is a center for health and community programs. The program will offer health information trainings, conduct community discussions and street outreach, train five community health advocates, and develop 2–3 video clips for YouTube and other distribution channels. The project will provide the opportunity to engage more community residents as educators and develop new information resources. Metropolitan Washington Public Health Association: http://mwpha.org/joomla

Trinity Development Corporation “Love is Thicker Than Blood HIV/AIDS and Substance Abuse Comprehensive Web Site” (Washington, DC)

The Trinity Development Corporation convened the first “Clergy Leadership Summit on HIV/AIDS” for the purpose of engaging clergy and lay leaders in the establishment of a comprehensive, coordinated HIV/AIDS effort that would be compatible with churches’ environs and ministries. The “Love is Thicker Than Blood” Project was established as an outgrowth of the summit and consists of nine churches of various denominations located in the District of Columbia, one in each of the eight Wards, and Trinity Episcopal Church. The TDC seeks funding from NLM in order to develop and maintain a web site designed to promote scientific–based HIV/AIDS and Substance Abuse information; enable the “Love is Thicker Than Blood” Conversation center staff to share information; and foster awareness of the HIV/AIDS and Substance Abuse crisis and available support services among residents of the District of Columbia. Trinity Episcopal Church: http://www.trinitywashingtondc.org/vision.html

Last reviewed: 07 March 2008
Last updated: 07 March 2008
First published: 05 March 2008
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