Washington, D.C. -- The U.S. National Institutes of Health has granted the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) up to $1.34 million to conduct the Healthy People 2010 Library Initiative. This five-year project will bring to the nation's 15,000 public libraries the latest information about biomedical research, especially as it pertains to the goals of Healthy People 2010.
Healthy People 2010 is a national health promotion and disease prevention initiative that brings together government agencies, organizations, businesses, communities, and individuals to improve the health of all Americans, eliminate disparities in health, and improve years and quality of healthy life.
The AAAS' Healthy People 2010 Library Initiative will develop seven plain-language booklets, as well as a tool kit for public libraries to help them promote and best use the materials. The first booklet will be a primer on the benefits and drawbacks of biomedical research and how the results of such research affect our daily lives. The remaining six booklets will cover key Healthy People 2010 topics such as respiratory disease, diabetes, heart disease and stroke, and nutrition. These booklets will be authored by minority scientists in partnership with a plain-language editor and will be available both in print and on the Internet.
The booklets and other materials will be tested in library outreach programs in low-income communities with large populations of African Americans and Hispanic Americans in five urban areas during the first three years of the project. The materials then will be disseminated nationally to other public libraries and community-based organizations, and the impact of the project will be evaluated.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world's largest federation of scientists, works to advance science for human well-being through its projects, programs and publications. AAAS counts nearly 275 scientific and engineering societies among its affiliates and more than 138,000 individual scientists, engineers, science educators, policymakers, and interested citizens as members. The association publishes the prestigious peer-reviewed journal Science, as well as a number of electronic features on the World Wide Web.