Library Engagement with Community-based Health and Wellness in Diverse Communities

Community residents conceive their health and wellness priorities and concerns differently, often based on their cultural, socio-economic, ethnic, and racial characteristics. As public libraries and other information organizations seek to build healthier communities by improving access to information and health literacy, they are well-served by focusing first on engaging their communities so they can better align their programs and services to reflect their specific health-related aspirations and concerns. In central New Jersey, regional health care agencies have developed a Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP); among their top priorities for the Middlesex/Somerset County region is access to health care and health information. The regional CHIP has turned to libraries for assistance, especially since one of the country’s premier consumer health programs, Just for the Health of It, located at the East Brunswick Public Library, has demonstrated how certifying librarians as health information specialists can make a significant difference in health outcomes. Nevertheless, this model may not fit all libraries in the region, particularly in the adjacent communities of New Brunswick and Franklin Township/Somerset, where many immigrant and African-American residents experience persistent disparate health outcomes. Our research addressed underlying reasons why the residents of these three communities differ in their approach to health and wellness. We used community engagement tools to listen to local citizens talk about their aspirations and concerns, then themed these conversations, and created community narratives that represent great variation in approaches to health and wellness, and ways that health care and information organizations might respond. We then met with librarians from each of the three communities to review the narratives, consider their aspirations and concerns, and discuss ways to move forward in providing meaningful health information programs to their communities.