This project is the initial phase of a 3 year curriculum development of an evaluation project plan that includes incorporating the National Library of Medicine (NLM) databases into all health education courses by spring 2010. The research emphasis will be on the prevalence of diabetes and how innovative eHealth educational approaches may reduce its major contributors - overweight and obesity - through lifestyle changes among African Americans on the campus of Coppin State University and in the Baltimore City community.

This project is focused on educating and training students and community members on the use of NLM online health and medical resources to access preventative and intervention strategies for addressing health concerns with resulting behavioral changes to reduce health disparities. They plan to track impact, via pre- and post-surveys and focus group data analyses, of heightened awareness and utilization of NLM online resources as an educational tool.

This project is focused on empowering MSM Master of Public Health students, Booker T. Washington High School students, community adults, and academic and public Librarians with knowledge, use and support of the NLM databases as a resource for authoritative and consumer understandable health information, thereby improving health literacy, expanding health information curricula, and reducing health disparities. They will host MSM faculty, students, community residents and Librarians in NLM databases awareness and training workshops in support of health promotion and disease prevention and implement reporting tools to track increased utilization preferences, faculty production of units of study encompassing a specific aspect of NLM resources, and demonstrated ability to assist others in the use of the NLM databases.

North Carolina Central University is planning an innovative, cross-disciplinary team approach to train members of the campus community and a network of 23 statewide community partners to use the NLM online databases and assessing training effectiveness in reducing the knowledge gap on issues related to diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer as well as changing knowledge, attitudes, behavior and skills, thereby reducing health disparities.