Morgan Anna U, Dupuis Roxanne, D'Alonzo Bernadette, Johnson Andria, Graves Amy, Brooks Kiahana L, McClintock Autumn, Klusaritz Heather, Bogner Hillary, Long Judith A, Grande David, Cannuscio Carolyn C
Anna U. Morgan is a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia.
Roxanne Dupuis is a research program manager at the Center for Public Health Initiatives, University of Pennsylvania.
Health Aff (Millwood). 2016 Nov 1;35(11):2030-2036. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2016.0724.
Public libraries are not usually included in discussions about improving population health. They are, however, well positioned to be partners in building a culture of health through programming that addresses the social determinants of health. The Healthy Library Initiative, a partnership between the University of Pennsylvania and the Free Library of Philadelphia (the public library system that serves the city), has undertaken such efforts in Philadelphia. In this article we report findings from an assessment of how ten highly subscribed programs address the social determinants of health, as well as results of interviews with community residents and library staff. Of the 5.8 million in-person Free Library visits in 2015, 500,000 included attendance at specialized programs that addressed multiple health determinants, such as housing and literacy. Library staff provided intensive support to vulnerable populations including homeless people, people with mental illness and substance use, recent immigrants, and children and families suffering from trauma. We found that public libraries are trusted institutions that have broad population reach and untapped potential to improve population health.
在关于改善公众健康的讨论中，公共图书馆通常并不在其中。然而，通过开展旨在解决健康问题社会决定因素的项目，公共图书馆完全有能力成为构建健康文化的合作伙伴。宾夕法尼亚大学与费城市免费图书馆（为该市服务的公共图书馆系统）合作开展的“健康图书馆倡议”，已在费城进行了此类努力。在本文中，我们报告了对十个热门项目如何解决健康问题社会决定因素的评估结果，以及对社区居民和图书馆工作人员的访谈结果。2015年，费城市免费图书馆的到馆人次达580万，其中50万参加了针对多个健康决定因素（如住房和读写能力）的专门项目。图书馆工作人员为包括无家可归者、患有精神疾病和药物滥用者、新移民以及遭受创伤的儿童和家庭等弱势群体提供了大力支持。我们发现，公共图书馆是值得信赖的机构，受众广泛，在改善公众健康方面具有尚未开发的潜力。
