Mpox Information Outreach Awardee Projects

Posted by Miles Dietz-Castel on February 22nd, 2023 Posted in: Blog
Tags: awards, mpox

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NNLM Region 6 is excited to share the 3 awardees selected for the Mpox Information Outreach Award. This award will provide funding to organizations for the purpose of providing communities most at risk for mpox with high quality information about mpox. The award is intended to increase health equity through outreach and engagement.

What is mpox (previously referred to as Monkeypox*)? Mpox is a rare but potentially serious disease that is caused by the mpox virus. Mpox virus is from the same family of viruses as the smallpox virus. However, it less severe and transmissible than smallpox. Learn more about mpox, how it spreads, signs and symptoms, and treatments and vaccines, from MedlinePlus.org

International Museum of Surgical Science – “Medical History Today: Mpox”
“Medical History Today: Mpox” is an exhibition at the International Museum of Surgical Science in Chicago on view in the first floor Welcome Gallery, aimed at providing visitors with up-to-date information from the CDC, the NIH, and the WHO. Visitors will learn from visually rich text panels, interactive video clips, and actionable handout materials to better understand mpox to spread knowledge of how to prevent the spread of the virus. The Museum targets its general audience to engage with these contemporary materials and the history of virus epidemics. Through this exhibition, the Museum aims to connect the current state of the mpox outbreak with the broader history of medicine that is on display throughout the Museum’s collections, bringing to light the challenges and accomplishments of medical progress in the past and present.

One Iowa – “Mpox Outreach in the LGBTQ Community”
Mpox disproportionately impacts members of the LGBTQ community. Because of this, One Iowa is interested in undertaking a project to provide LGBTQ individuals with information on mpox, its spread, and the mpox vaccine. This will be completed through community outreach to the LGBTQ community through social media campaigns, the creation of a mpox page on the heavily trafficked One Iowa website, and outreach to LGBTQ organizations and community spaces through fliers and posters, including a QR code to the One Iowa website with more information about mpox and how to locate vaccines. Additionally, One Iowa’s goal is to raise awareness of mpox without using stigmatizing language while acknowledging the increased need for education in the LGBTQ community.

Northeast Ohio Black Health Coalition – “NEOBHC Mpox Prevention Outreach Program”
The Northeast Ohio Black Health Coalition (NEOBHC) proposes a project to help protect unsuspecting sexual partners from potential infection due to mpox or other STDs. They plan to create QR code stickers for condom packages. The QR code will link to mpox information from MedlinePlus and/or the CDC in addition to information regarding public health treatment locations for those suspecting infection. The NEOBHC Community Engagement Director will have the bagged condoms available to be distributed for focused disease prevention and educational awareness at community events throughout the 23 counties (Ashland, Ashtabula, Carroll, Columbiana, Coshocton, Cuyahoga, Erie, Geauga, Harrison, Holmes, Huron, Jefferson, Lake, Lorain, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Richland, Stark, Summit, Trumbull, Tuscarawas, Wayne) throughout Northeast Ohio.

 

*In response to numerous requests and after consulting experts, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on November 28, 2022 that they will begin to use Mpox to refer to the disease and monkeypox will phase out in one year. “‘We welcome the change by the World Health Organization. We must do all we can to break down barriers to public health, and reducing stigma associated with disease is one critical step in our work to end mpox,’ said U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra.” Source: HHS.gov