? EthnoMed (ethnomed.org) is a locally and nationally recognized web-based resource of culturally and linguistically appropriate health related information for refugee/immigrant communities and their healthcare providers. The EthnoMed team proposes transforming EthnoMed into a database of documents supported by a content management system and with a new layout, in order to: ? ? 1) make it easier for the public, clinicians, and community members to access the information they need when they need it ? 2) make content contribution and management tasks more efficient to encourage increased capacity and sustainability of the resource ? ? Ethnomed is not utilizing many advances in the field of informatics that relate to database management and Web design. When we began EthnoMed in 1994 we were state of the art both in terms of the use of technology and our content. Our content is still unique and valuable, but we lack technical enhancements that would allow us to provide more and better information to improve the care of refugees and immigrants who often have limited English proficiency. EthnoMed is both virtual and real, and therefore unique in cross-cultural medicine. The human relationships that sustain this work are transformed into virtual resources by the EthnoMed team for busy clinicians needing clinically relevant information and for patients needing culturally/linguistically appropriate materials. In this way EthnoMed directly supports those working on the front lines of reducing health disparities with high-risk patients. The proposed project would make producing and accessing this information more fluid and manageable. ? ? ?
