NIAMS Multicultural Outreach News September 2011

Amber Grace

For Future Pharmacist, Research Provides an Opportunity to Discover Innovative Aspects of Science
Amber Grace is a recent graduate of Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Alabama, where she majored in chemistry. She is one of 16 young scientists-in-training selected to participate in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Academy, a post-baccalaureate biomedical research program for recent college graduates with an interest in domestic health disparities, differences in the frequency or severity of diseases and other adverse health conditions among populations in the United States. Academy members spend one or two years working side by side with NIH investigators exclusively on biomedical research. In her interview, Grace discusses her student "career" at the NIAMS, her passion for health disparities research and what inspired her interest in science starting at age 12.

New Public Service Campaign Urges Hispanics to Talk with Their Doctor

New Public Service Campaign Urges Hispanics to Talk with Their Doctor
Hispanics are less likely than other ethnic groups to see a doctor or other health professionals regularly. The data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) are startling.

Health Disparities Seminar Series
The NIH National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) sponsors the monthly Health Disparities Seminar Series, which provides information on advances, gaps and current issues related to health disparities research. It features national and international health disparities research experts, including many who are funded by the NIMHD, other NIH Institutes and Centers and federal agency partners. Each seminar focuses on a specific theme.

Save the Date: NIAMS Advisory Council Meeting
The next NIAMS Advisory Council Meeting will be held September 27, 2011, in Building 31, 6th floor, C Wing, Conference Room 6, NIH Campus.

New!
What Is Ankylosing Spondylitis?
This fact sheet contains general information about ankylosing spondylitis. It describes the symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis, who gets it and how it is diagnosed and treated. Highlights of current research are also included. This publication is also available in Spanish.

Coming Soon!
Ana’s Story: How she and her family learned about sports injuries
This bilingual fotonovela uses a comic-book style format to teach middle school kids how to avoid sports injuries. The fotonovela features teen soccer star Ana who sprains her knee during a pick-up game at a family picnic. Ana and her family learn the best way to treat a sports injury and how to avoid any future injuries. This will be a must-read publication for active kids, parents and coaches.

Get the Facts: Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Fibromyalgia
People with chronic health conditions such as fibromyalgia often turn to some form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). The fact sheet Fibromyalgia and CAM: At a Glance provides basic information on fibromyalgia and “what the science says” about the effectiveness of CAM practices that many people with fibromyalgia use.

New Spanish-Language Guides Inform Decisions about Various Illnesses
AHRQ now offers 23 publications in Spanish that compare treatments for various illnesses, including bone and joint-related conditions. Two of the new Spanish-language guides are:

• Controle el dolor por una fractura de cadera (Managing Pain from a Broken Hip) compares medications for controlling pain from hip fracture as well as other therapies, such as nerve blocks and acupressure.
• Opciones para tratar el desgarro de los músculos y tendones del hombro (Treatment Options for Rotator Cuff Tears) compares surgical and nonsurgical treatments, including physical therapy, to treat rotator cuff injury—the often painful tearing of shoulder-based tendons that are used to help lift and rotate the arms.

AHRQ’s Spanish-language Effective Health Care patient guides are available online. To order print copies, email the AHRQ Publications Clearinghouse at ahrqpubs@ahrq.hhs.gov or call (800) 358-9295. Other AHRQ Spanish-language consumer tools are also available online.

Spanish-Language Tool Helps Consumers Reduce Medication Errors
AHRQ has released a revised Spanish-language medication safety booklet, Su medicamento: Infórmese. Evite riesgos. (Your Medicine: Be Smart. Be Safe.), to help Spanish-speaking patients learn more about how to take medicines safely. The booklet includes a detachable, wallet-size card that can help patients keep track of medicines they are taking, including vitamins and herbal and other dietary supplements. Download a copy of the guide in English or Spanish, or request print copies by emailing ahrqpubs@ahrq.hhs.gov.

In 1987, the NIAMS launched the NIAMS Information Clearinghouse. Today, it serves as a centralized source of information on arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases for patients and health care providers. For more key NIAMS milestones, please visit our 25th Anniversary website.

NIAMS Community Health Center

Update on the Community Health Center
The NIAMS Community Health Center (CHC) has successfully moved to its new location, after 10 years of serving patients in Unity Health Care’s Upper Cardozo Health Center in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of northwest Washington, DC. The new CHC is located in the Cardinal McCarrick Center of the Spanish Catholic Center of Catholic Charities in Silver Spring, Maryland. The NIAMS Community Health Center is a medical and health information center providing health care services to people affected by arthritis, lupus and other rheumatic diseases.

The NIAMS exhibit

The NIAMS exhibit will be traveling to several events in 2011.  See the complete schedule of health fairs and exhibits.