Imperial College London
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Dr Austen El-Osta

Faculty of Medicine, School of Public Health

Primary Care Research Manager
 
 
 
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Contact

 

+44 (0)20 7594 7604a.el-osta Website

 
 
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Location

 

323Reynolds BuildingCharing Cross Campus

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Summary

 

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Manisha:2023:10.31124/advance.21215006.v1,
author = {Manisha, K and El-Asmar, M and Riboli-Sasco, E and Loombia, P and Harland, D and Neville, R and El-Osta, A},
doi = {10.31124/advance.21215006.v1},
journal = {Sage Open},
title = {What is the potential of public libraries to promote public mental health and wellbeing? Findings from a cross-sectional study of community-dwelling adults},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.31124/advance.21215006.v1},
year = {2023}
}
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RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB  - Purpose of research:To explore the potential of libraries as community hubs to promote mental and physical health and wellbeing.Design:Cross-sectional online survey and interview-based study with community-dwelling adults and library staff.Methods:We analysed data from 58 respondents using a 14-item electronic survey and conducted interviews with 12 library users and staff to gauge perceptions. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis were used to identify key trends and emergent themes.Results:Libraries remain popular and are considered a 'safe place' by members of thecommunity, irrespective of whether they are frequent users of services. Library users' lack of awareness of community-facing services could act as a hurdle to improving community health and wellbeing. Targeted engagement with residents is needed to increase awareness of the services libraries offer, including community interventions to help tackle loneliness and inequalities in digital and health literacy. Library staff often did not feel involved in important decision-making. Various barriers and drivers and practical recommendations were identified to leverage libraries as hubs to promotecommunity health and wellbeing.Conclusion:Libraries already offer a variety of resources that either directly or indirectly support the health and wellbeing of community-dwelling adults and young people, but public awareness of these services is limited. By acting as community hubs, libraries are ideally suited to deliver interventions to help tackle the increasing health and digital inequalities following the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic.
AU  - Manisha,K
AU  - El-Asmar,M
AU  - Riboli-Sasco,E
AU  - Loombia,P
AU  - Harland,D
AU  - Neville,R
AU  - El-Osta,A
DO  - 10.31124/advance.21215006.v1
PY  - 2023///
SN  - 2158-2440
TI  - What is the potential of public libraries to promote public mental health and wellbeing? Findings from a cross-sectional study of community-dwelling adults
T2  - Sage Open
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.31124/advance.21215006.v1
UR  - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/100436
ER  -
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