Health For All: Advancing Library-Academic Medical Center Partnerships to Navigate Wellness and Scale Preventive Services Access

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ABSTRACT Evidence-based preventive services have been shown to be effective in reducing death, disability, and disease by preventing and/or detecting illnesses and diseases in early stages that are responsive to treatment and lifestyle changes. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) develops recommendations that are made available to the public on its website and on apps to support clinicians in advising patients on preventive medicine services. However, few tools exist for scaling consumer access to crucial USPSTF information and for enhancing self-efficacy, activation, and connectivity of individuals to primary care. As underutilization of preventive health services is a contributing factor to health disparities, programs are warranted that reach underserved populations with accurate and accessible information about appropriate preventive services and how to access such services. Thus, leveraging Northwestern University’s strong health sciences library nested in a large academic medical center and a team with a proven track record of community engaged research and expertise in computer and information technology and implementation science, we propose to engage a user- centered design process to develop Navigating Wellness, a digital tool for librarians and library patrons that will augment USPSTF information to enhance the accessibility of up-to-date and tailored, preventive screening and wellness information to underserved populations. The Navigating Wellness tool seeks to empower library patrons to consume health information and utilize preventive health services, while equipping librarians with tools to support health information seeking within public libraries. Iterative prototype development will involve focus groups, an environmental scan of available community-based resources to enhance direct linkages to healthcare and social service providers, and key informant interviews among librarians to inform the development of a supplemental training module applicable across libraries, preventive medical terminology resources, and a portal for technical support that will connect public librarians with health science librarians at Northwestern. Following development of the tool, leveraging the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR), we will deploy the tool among 10 libraries to evaluate factors influencing implementation and healthcare utilization outcomes. Pre/post surveys among n=125 library patrons using the tool will assess outcomes related to preventive services utilization. A survey among n=50 librarians, community organization leaders, and stakeholders will identify factors influencing the implementation of the Navigating Wellness tool in library settings. Results will be used to develop a generalizable model for academic medical center – public library partnerships to sustain and disseminate the tool to other settings.