Library Receives Collection Equity Award

PlaneTree Health Library (PHL) has been awarded a $1,500 NNLM grant to support its oral history project that addresses disparities in communication with healthcare providers. The project will explore the cultural barriers in physician-patient communication and give a voice to patients and their experiences with healthcare in the U.S.

This award helps support the Network of the National Library of Medicine's mission to improve public health by providing equal access to health information resources and data.

Funding will be used to:

• produce video interviews with healthcare professionals and community health advocates
• engage with marginalized and underrepresented communities of color
• create resources to support outreach and promotion efforts.

"One of PlaneTree Health Library's core beliefs is that informed patients partner more effectively with their health professionals, resulting in better care overall," said Lise M. Dyckman, Executive Director. "But partnership requires two-way communication; both sides need to be heard and understood. This NNLM grant will help to amplify patients' voices and unpack (across cultural barriers) some of the implicit biases in the U.S. healthcare systems that get in the way of clear communication."