Megan Fratta Appointed UNC Health Sciences Community Outreach and Global Health Librarian
The Health Sciences Library is pleased to announce the appointment of Megan Fratta as the Community Outreach and Global Health Librarian, effective June 4.
Director of the Health Sciences Library, Dr. Mani, says Megan’s integration into the HSL team promotes the library’s mission of extending our reach to our community and state by way of enhancing access to and understanding of health information. Her passion for outreach and connection building will be instrumental to our efforts of expanding health literacy training to community and support organizations, public libraries, high school students in underrepresented areas, and with our global partners where access to information can be difficult to collate and access.
In this position, Megan will collaborate with statewide and University health outreach and research projects. She will provide information and education services to support evidence-based practice and will build relationships with practitioners, researchers and students working on global health projects.
Megan will also present patient literacy concepts to health professionals and students working in community hospitals, health centers and primary care practices in rural and underserved communities in North Carolina. Additionally, she will provide teaching and consultation related to health literacy and best practices in patient communication.
Megan can assist students, faculty, medical staff, and community partners with:
· Workshops on evaluating free health information on the web, and locating reliable and authoritative resources for specific health topics
· Instruction on health literacy resources and strategies, including making print materials easier-to-understand using plain language and the teach-back method
· Improving patient-health professional communication
· Identifying needs, planning, and providing information and education services to support evidence-based practice in global health projects
· Partnering with UNC organizations, departments, and institutes to support global health projects
· Conducting in-depth expert literature searches to support global health research, teaching, and service
Prior to this appointment, Megan worked as a contract librarian at the HSL at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She served in 2016-17 as an Associate Fellow at the National Library of Medicine.
Megan holds an M.L.S from the College of Information Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park, and a B.A. in health administration and policy with a minor in management of aging services from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
Reach Megan at mfratta@email.unc.edu or (919) 843-6235.
