Director of Research Data Services Receives $20,000 Grant for COVID-19 Youth Program

The University of Texas at Arlington Libraries congratulates Director of Research Data Services Peace Ossom Williamson on her recent grant award funded by the Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) South Central Region. The National Library of Medicine (NLM) is one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Ossom Williamson and her collaborators—Dr. Gabriela Wilson of the UTA Multi-Interdisciplinary Center for Health Informatics and Dr. Peggy Semingson of the UTA College of Education—received $20,000 to develop a health literacy collection and curriculum about the novel coronavirus pandemic for K-12 students.

“UTA Libraries is committed to serving the community beyond our campus by developing essential resources like this new collection,” said Rebecca Bichel, dean of UTA Libraries. “We are proud to have innovative leaders like Peace Ossom Williamson on our team, and are enthusiastic to see how this program unfolds.”

The COVID-19 NAVIGATOR Youth Empowerment Pilot Program (EPIGRAM) will be developed to enable K-12 students to access health information and resources related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The program will also provide these students with tools to engage with others during challenging times.

Ossom Williamson says she is developing the portal for K-12 teachers, guardians, and students to provide information about COVID-19 to children and young people who may not be able to process and understand the more complex information written or created for adults that is predominately available.

“We are focusing on this group because teachers are not always able to quickly shift their curriculum,” Ossom Williamson said. “This is especially true in a pandemic with rapidly changing teaching modalities as well as concerns for their own or their students’ personal situations that have arisen from the pandemic.”

She says the program will provide a searchable interface that allows users to easily locate the type of content they need.

“The goal is to bring to light the numerous resources available on COVID-19 by evaluating and sharing evidence-based content, from videos and games to books and articles,” she said. “The hope is that teachers find the resource valuable for integrating materials into their curriculum.”

The development period for this project extends to the end of April 2021.