Are you a current or aspiring Master's in Public Health (MPH) student? Are you interested in promoting community health with an inter-professional team in the public library setting? Then... becoming involved with the Stony Brook Medicine Healthy Libraries Program is for you!
Project Description: The HeLP program offers a variety of services to public libraries, including- Tuesday and Saturday inter-professional team tabling to address patron health and social needs, providing connections to health experts, and student-led presentations on various health topics requested by public library patrons and staff.
The MPH student is trained by interprofessional faculty and staff to conduct health-information screenings and to deliver educational programming related to blood pressure management, cancer prevention, and Lyme disease prevention and treatment to public library patrons. MPH Healthy Libraries student interns will be responsible for gathering resources and creating presentations, partaking in trainings and assessment activities, with the assistance of HeLP Program Staff.
Services where the MPH Student can be involved:
- Tuesday and Saturday inter-professional team tabling: Master's in Public Health (MPH) Healthy Libraries (HeLP) students collaborate with an interdisciplinary team of social work, library science, nursing, and physician assistant students to address the social and health needs of public library patrons in Suffolk County. During tabling events at public libraries, clinical students offer free blood pressure screenings, whereas social work students provide psychosocial support and referrals, and public health students connect public library patrons to health resources and education. Tabling events occur on Tuesdays and Saturdays for an 8-week rotation during the Fall and Spring semesters.
- Health Education Internship: The Program in Public Health at Stony Brook University offers a 100 hour field work experience to students enrolled in the Masters of Public Health (MPH) at Stony Brook University. Public libraries can request an intern in the Spring, February through May. Interns will provide one-on-one and group health education programs in-person at member libraries for up to 10 hours/week. Interns will be available to demonstrate and promote the use of self-monitoring blood pressure kits, conduct health reference information searches, connect patrons and staff to health experts, and deliver health educational programs.
- Expert Connect: If a public library expresses a desire or need for a health topic to be addressed in their community, HeLP Program Staff will assist in locating University faculty and staff who are experts in that field.
- Student-Led Presentations: MPH HeLP student interns create and deliver health-related educational presentations to public libraries, catered towards specific audiences and requested topics. Past presentations include blood pressure management and screening, the DASH-diet, and skin cancer prevention.
Ways to Participate:
- Paid assistantship for 10 hours a week at $19 an hour.
- Hours could count towards completion of the 3-credit Course: HPH 575- Public Health Internship. You need to complete 100 hours of field experience for this course (HeLP Internship could cover some or all of those hours)
- You can complete Healthy Libraries internship for your practicum (typically your Fall or Spring semester of your second year)
If you are interested in being a part of this novel program or have any questions, please contact the Healthy Libraries Program Coordinator, Becca Nolder, at becca.nolder@stonybrookmedicine.edu