Dementia & Research Awareness Project for Public Libraries

The Dementia & Research Awareness project embodies the NNLM Public Library Partnership Award mission in two vital ways. One, by focusing on one group of underserved individuals that libraries are just beginning to serve those living with dementia and their care partners the project promotes the use of public libraries to support community health information needs through the use of National Library of Medicine and other quality health education resources. Stigma about dementia often keeps people from seeking diagnosis and treatment; it also precipitates withdrawal from favorite activities and places due to a lack of acceptance. The public library can help to counteract this stigma while increasing community participation by assisting the public to learn more about dementia and by welcoming this group of too-often forgotten people into their facilities. Accordingly, Library staff and trustees would benefit from additional training about the disease and about supportive strategies for interacting with people living with dementia. Accordingly, the proposal includes an introduction to NLM dementia resources and a dementia awareness curriculum that includes definition and characteristics of dementia as well as an introduction to general communication, library-specific, and environmental strategies that support people with dementia and their care partners. In-person curriculum-based training will be delivered at ten 10 diverse public libraries in northeastern Illinois, southern Illinois, and southeastern Wisconsin as well as two 2 98 communities identified in the 2018-2019 GMR NNLM Ambassador program. One onsite training session will be videotaped and posted online for later access; two training sessions will be made available via free live webinars and archived for later viewing. Sustainability will be created via online resources and a train-the-trainer program involving partnering Illinois and Wisconsin libraries. Two, because Alzheimers disease and related dementias affect a diverse, substantial, and growing population, the projects focus on dementia presents an excellent opportunity for increased public and participant awareness and understanding of the NIH Research Program. All trainings and partnering libraries will promote and/or share the research program via dementia literacy, health programs, and materials on-site and through affiliated libraries and community organizations.

Project Details

Organization Name

Round Lake Area Public Library

Organization Type
All of Us
Public library
Project Lead

Jim DiDonato

Location
Illinois
Start Date
May 1, 2019
End Date
April 30, 2020
Funding Amount
$19525
Demographics
General Public
Library or Information Professional
Adults (19-64 yrs.)
Children (0-12 yrs.)
Adults (19-64 yrs.)
Seniors (65+ yrs.)
Teens (13-18 yrs.)
Women
Blacks/African Americans
Alaska Natives
American Indians
Asians/Asian Americans
Hispanics/Latin Americans
Native Hawaiians
Other Pacific Islanders
Medically Underserved Areas/Populations
Rural
Suburban
Urban
Behavioral/Social Determinants of Health