Vital Signs: Health Literacy and Library and Information Science Pedagogy in the United States

Abstract

Health literacy supports individuals’, families’, and communities’ health-care decisions. As mediators between health information seekers and medical literature, librarians are essential purveyors of health literacy. Users’ trust in libraries as sources of reliable and current health information presupposes the appropriate training of librarians; however, LIS programs lack benchmarks for educating generalist students in health information. On-the-job training remains the latter’s sole recourse. This research employs content analysis to explore the current state of health literacy training in LIS programs. First, we define and contextualize health literacy. Next, we posit a health literacy framework comprising five attributes based on the American Library Association’s (ALA’s) core competencies and relevant scholarship. Third, we examine 118 health-related courses offered by 53 LIS programs in the United States and Puerto Rico. Only 38 courses in 25 LIS programs incorporate one or more of the five attributes. Ultimately, we recommend that LIS programs train generalist students in health literacy as part of the core curriculum, thereby preparing them to develop and support users’ health literacy.