Connection Between Knowing and Doing? A Mixed Methods Exploration of Librarian Wellness Behaviors

ABSTRACT

The authors examined the relationship between access to or use of health information resources by health sciences librarians (HSLs) and non-HSLs. We wanted to know if, compared to non-HSLs, increased access to and use of health information by HSLs was associated with more frequent performance of wellness behaviors. : A survey containing questions about access to health information resources, the use of health information resources, the frequency of the performance of wellness behaviors and barriers and facilitators to performing these behaviors was sent via e-mail to members of over 60 library organizations. A total of 1913 librarians responded to the survey. We found no difference between the HSLs and the non-HSLs by age or sex but HSLs were more likely to have master’s degrees or higher, work more hours, and to work in institutions that provide access to vaccines and/or wellness programs. HSLs have greater access to and use quality health information resources more often than do non-HSLs. Compared to non-HSLs, HSLs exercise more and eat more fruits and vegetables. Non-HSLs, however, are more likely to engage in regular spiritual activities. Barriers to performing wellness behaviors included lack of time, lack of motivation, fatigue, and chronic pain whereas facilitators included positive social support for wellness behaviors. Our data show that access to health information and frequency of use is correlated with the performance of wellness behaviors. While access to health information can work to nudge people to engage in healthy habits, information by itself is not enough.

KEYWORDS:

• Attitude toward health
• exercise
• health behavior
• health knowledge
• healthy eating
• positive influence of pets
• social determinants of health
• social support
• wellness
• wellness shaming

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge Mark Shroder, PhD. Statistics Consultant, Fred King, MedStar Washington Hospital Center, Qualitative Coding Assistance, Jory Barone, MedStar Washington Hospital Center, Qualitative Coding Assistance, Pamela S. Hinds, RN, PhD, Children’s National Medical Center, Washington, DC, Editorial Assistance, and Darryl Grant, PhD, RedCap Assistance.

Disclaimer

The views expressed in this manuscript are the authors’ own opinions and do not reflect the official positions of either the institutions or the funder.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Funding

The authors received a research grant from the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Medical Library Association and used the funds to provide incentives for survey completion.

Profound thanks to the 1913 librarians who took the time to complete our survey.

Data availability statement

All of the data can be found in Open Science Framework https://osf.io/fqpu4/. DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/FQPU4.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher’s website at https://doi.org/10.1080/15323269.2024.2323909.