Datasets for submitted article titled "A Health Education Partnership Between an Academic Medical Library and Public Library: Lessons Learned Before & During a Pandemic"

Abstract

Three datasets for submitted article (see article abstract below): Background: Public libraries serve as community centers for accessing free, trustworthy health information. As such, they provide an ideal setting to teach the local community about health and health literacy, particularly during public health crises like the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2018, an outreach partnership between an academic medical library and public library has developed, delivered, and continuously evaluated a health education program targeting public library users. Case Presentation: Health education activities were integrated into three existing public library programs: adult workshops, child and family programming, and circulating family activity kits, all of which pivoted online during the pandemic. An interprofessional team approach combined the expertise of academic medical and public librarians, medical school faculty and staff, and medical students in developing the educational programs. A total of 12 in-person and three virtual health education programs were offered and seven health education family kits were launched. Activities were evaluated using program evaluation surveys of the adult and children’s programs. Conclusions: This case report showcases the lessons learned in implementing a longitudinal outreach partnership between an academic medical and public library before and during the COVID-19 pandemic with a look to the future. The interprofessional team approach and flexibility in program design and delivery in both the in-person and virtual environments proved critical to the success of the partnership. This can inspire other libraries to pursue interprofessional collaborations in educating local communities on healthy behavior and health information seeking practices.