March 22, 2012
Stephen I. Katz, M.D., Ph.D.
Stephen I. Katz, M.D., Ph.D.
Dear Colleagues:

We are pleased to announce that four organizations have been selected to field test the distribution of health planners as part of the NIAMS National Multicultural Outreach Initiative, in preparation for an anticipated national distribution in 2013.

As you may know, the NIAMS has developed health planners tailored to four multicultural communities to raise awareness about the availability of resources from the NIAMS, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other Federal agencies to help people with conditions of the bones, joints, muscles and skin.

The pilot study will focus on two multicultural populations—American Indians and Hispanics/Latinos—to test the effectiveness of both the health planner and the community distribution methods. Working collaboratively with the Indian Health Service, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Minority Health and member organizations of the NIAMS Coalition, the NIAMS selected four community-based organizations to distribute a limited number of health planners and to evaluate their dissemination efforts. Two pilot sites will focus on outreach through community health workers, allowing the NIAMS to explore the effectiveness of this approach as a channel for accessing multicultural communities.

We congratulate the following pilot study sites:

  • South Florida Center for Reducing Cancer Disparities, University of Miami, Florida (targeting Hispanics/Latinos)
  • Lupus LA, California (targeting Hispanics/Latinos)
  • Shoshone-Bannock Tribe, Fort Hall, Idaho (targeting American Indians)
  • Arthritis Foundation, Oklahoma Chapter (targeting American Indians)

Among the several organizations that expressed interest in participating in the pilot study, these organizations were selected based on the number of planners they could distribute, their varied distribution methods, their ability to track their activities and their geographic diversity.

By establishing the National Multicultural Outreach Initiative, the NIAMS stands by its commitment to address disparities in health information among underserved populations. We believe this program will make a positive impact on the lives of people from multicultural communities, and we look forward to sharing the results of the pilot study with you in the coming months.

For more information, please visit the NIAMS Multicultural Outreach and Information Page

Stephen I. Katz, M.D., Ph.D.
Director
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
National Institutes of Health

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