230324 Public Health Imperative: Using MINDSe Health for Urban Health and Well-being

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Lorece Edwards, DrPH , School of Community Health and Policy, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD
Melissa Littlefield, PhD , School of Social Work, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD
Barbara Hughes, PhD , DRU Mondawmin Healthy Families, Inc, Baltimore, MD
Nearly a century after the efforts of Booker T. Washington to place emphasis on the health of African Americans, African Americans are succumbing to a host of diseases at rates that are disproportionately higher than any other ethnicity. Some of the most serious diseases and causes of death/pre-mature death for African Americans include, but are not limited to, infant mortality, heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, and AIDS. These disparities are impacted by both structural and individual level factors. At the individual level, health education is key but access to information faces several obstacles. In response to this need, the MINDS eHealth Project was implemented. MINDS eHealth is a project focused on impacting health disparities among African Americans through the use of online technology. MINDS eHealth was designed to increase the awareness of, access to, and utilization of the wealth of evidenced-based data resources compiled by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) databases. The establishment of the project provided peer-based training to students, faculty, and community partners by developing and testing a public health informatics intervention through a network of partners. The network consisted of Morgan State University campus and community partners collaborating to increase the utilization of the NLM online database through a customized web portal. The portal facilitated access to health information on the selected health disparities: HIV/AIDS, obesity, violence, stress, breast cancer, and substance abuse. This presentation will discuss the development and implementation of the MINDS eHealth project and its implications for health disparities.

Learning Areas:
Advocacy for health and health education
Communication and informatics
Public health or related education

Learning Objectives:
1. Discuss the characteristics of health disparities within the framework of social justice. 2. Identify strategies for mobilizing the academy and community to address health disparities through technology.

Keywords: Information Technology, Health Disparities

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am one the co-principle investigators for the project. Additionally, I trained some of the community partners involved in the project.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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