Educational Impact of the NLM/National Area Health Education Center Organization (NAO) Project-SHARE Based Teen Health Information Literacy Curriculum

Overview

Background: The Teen Health Information Literacy Project is an after-school program for high school students. It gives them skills to access valid and reliable health data. It also aims to grow young health advocates. Researchers want to find out more about the impact the program has had on students. They want to use this feedback to improve the program. Objective: To gain feedback about the Teen Health Information Literacy Project. Eligibility: Young people who participated in the Teen Health Information Literacy Project. The project was run by Area Health Education Centers (AHECs) and sponsored by the National Library of Medicine (NLM). Design: The study will be explained to students during a program session. They will take consent forms home to their parents. Participants will split into 6 focus groups. Each one will be conducted at an AHEC project site. The focus group will be a 90-minute discussion between participants and an evaluator from the NLM. The evaluator will be present either in person or by video conference. The evaluator will ask participants questions, which may include the following. What did they like and dislike about the program? Why did they decide to participate? What have they learned? Would they recommend this program to another student? How has the program affected their interest in health-related careers? The discussion will be audio-recorded. The evaluator will use an automated tool to convert recordings into text. After that, she will destroy the audio.

The objective of the study is to evaluate the impact of the National Library of Medicine (NLM)/ National Area Health Education Center Organization (NAO) Teen Health Information Literacy Curriculum (based on an earlier Project SHARE curriculum) on the participants : understanding of health disparities in their communities; leadership, health advocacy, and communication skills; sense of self and connectedness with the community; and interest in health-related careers. Study population: The study population consists of program participants at the five participating sites, which include local AHEC chapters of Boston, Brooklyn-Queens-Long Island, Colorado, Eastern Connecticut, and Montana. The program participants are middle and high school students, ranging in ages from 13 to 18 years old. All participants will be invited to participate. Design: The study will involve moderated focus groups at each participating site. Outcome measures: participants understanding of health disparities in their communities; leadership, health advocacy, and communication skills; sense of self and connectedness with the community; and interest in health-related careers.