The City of Rockford has once again created a video to promote health literacy for minorities but this time the message is delivered in a different way.
Last year, Rockford Ready used poetry to spread the message about health literacy. This year, Black faith leaders are reaching out.
Anqunette Parham, the executive director of Health and Human Services for the City of Rockford and the project lead for Rockford Ready, said the initiative was originally started from a COVID-19- specific grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health.
“However, I do believe that the level of involvement that we’ve had, especially with the faith community,” she said, “and with community-based organizations in our community will really kind of help this work live on, even beyond the lifecycle of this grant.”
Parham said a survey was conducted to find out who the minority community looked up to the most.
“Our data did reflect that a number of folks indicated that they respected the information that came from their clergyman,” she explained. “And so, we recognize that folks that have this trusted relationship with our target population around this work, it was important to amplify the voices of people that they trust.”
The purpose of the video is to empower people to take control of their health by advocating for themselves, to encourage them to prepare for their doctor’s appointments and to ask the right questions when they get there. The University of Illinois Chicago, UIC College of Medicine Rockford and CURA Strategies are all partnering with the city for this initiative.
The “Voices of Rockford Present: Health Literacy Looks Like…” video can be found here.