Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) and Cobb County Public Library (CCPL) are collaborating to address health literacy during MSM’s Talk, Learn and Collaborate (TLC) session, Increasing Knowledge & Reducing Risks: Improving Health Literacy Access to Historically Underserved Communities, on Wednesday, April 24 at 11:30 am at South Cobb Regional Library, 805 Clay Road in Mableton. The program will be presented in-person and in a live Zoom broadcast.

The TLC series presents “opportunities for community partners to engage in dialogue with medical practitioners, care providers and community stakeholders about challenges facing society that often disproportionately affect under resourced communities,” said MSM Office of Community Engagement Director Dr. Charity Starr Mitchell.

The April 24 program will highlight health literacy as a complex challenge involving increased rates of high-risk behaviors and practices among youth and aging adults. “Understanding the trends and barriers to achieving optimal health outcomes is key to effectively navigating this conversation and exploring potential solutions,” Dr. Mitchell added.

Rhonda Holliday, PhD, Professor of Community Health and Preventive Medicine at MSM, will serve as the featured speaker for the April 24 program. Dr. Holliday will share her past and present research highlighting her work in HIV infection prevention and intervention initiatives in both urban and rural Georgia communities.

“A key component of health literacy involves educating individuals and addressing systemic barriers that influence the health of communities that have been historically underserved,” Dr. Holliday said.

CCPL South Region Manager Jo Lahmon said public libraries have an important role in prioritizing health literacy in communities in metro Atlanta and across the United States.

"The health literacy thread flows through all generations and walks of life.  Cobb County library workers provide meaningful support to close health disparity gaps directly with the people we serve every day, one on one,” said Ms. Lahmon.  “The MSM/CCPL partnership is about our shared commitment to make a difference in growing awareness, true health literacy, that powers action by the community for wellness and health.”

Tabia Henry Akintobi, PhD, MPH, of MSM will once again join the panel of experts and community champions to collectively discuss at a Cobb library health challenges and opportunities for transformative action. The Mableton resident is Professor and Chair of Community Health and Preventive Medicine and Associate Dean of Community Engagement. A nationally and internationally recognized public health leader and communicator, Dr. Akintobi is co-editor of Black Health in the South (2023) and co-author of The Morehouse Model: How One School of Medicine Revolutionized Community Engagement and Health Equity (2021).

The April 24 Talk, Learn and Collaborate session is a continuation of the Morehouse School of Medicine and Cobb County Library partnership, which began in the fall of 2023 to address gaps in lifelong health outcomes in communities across the county. Click here to register for this free event in person. For information on Cobb library programs, visit cobbcat.org.