Since 2001, the United States has celebrated National Minority Health Month (NMHM) in April. Its purpose is to increase awareness of the importance of improving the health of racial and ethnic minority populations and reducing existent health disparities.
This year’s theme, "Better Health Through Better Understanding," focuses on improving health outcomes for racial and ethnic minority and AI/AN communities by providing them with culturally and linguistically competent healthcare services, information, and resources. When patients are provided with culturally and linguistically appropriate information, they are empowered to create healthier outcomes for themselves and their communities. (Credit: HHS National Minority Health Month website)
As the state’s only publicly accessible health sciences library, UNM’s Health Sciences Library and Informatics Center (HSLIC) strives to support the health and health equity of all of the people of New Mexico, one of the United States’ only majority-minority states. This is reflected in the library’s consistent dedication to collaborative partnerships and its support of the spaces and materials needed for health information learning. HSLIC is engaged in this work year-round. The library's Native Health Database embodies critical and culturally-relevant resources for North American Indigenous populations. Its recent platform upgrade embeds concepts of Indigenous Data Sovereignty into the exchange of information between creators and communities, ultimately elevating communities to become decision-makers about what is appropriate to share and with whom.
Further information on the library’s engagement with the community can be found here. UNM-HSC's Center for Native American Health specializes in student and workforce development, community engagement, community-based participatory research (CBPR), community health assessment capacity building, program planning, and project management. CNAH is a frequent collaborator with HSLIC in their mutual goals to improve health outcomes for Indigenous populations.
All are also encouraged to explore the OMHRC (Office of Minority Health Resource Center) database, the nation’s largest depository of information on the health of minority populations. A highlight is the availability of consumer health information in over 40 languages. Furthermore, the National Library of Medicine provides a helpful website (Health Disparities & Minority Health Information Resources) that has several links to federal government and private organizational resources that speak to the health needs of underserved populations.
Authored by Deirdre Caparoso (HSLIC's Outreach & Community Engagement Librarian) and Jonathan Pringle (HSLIC's Scholarly Communications & Digital Librarian)