Social
Books, Bonds, and Better Health: Public Libraries as a Third Place for Promoting Health and Wellbeing of Community-Dwelling Older People in Australia Rosanne Freak-Poli* Rosanne Freak-Poli Htet Lin Htun Achamyeleh Birhanu Teshale Alice J. Owen Joanne Ryan Melissa Whitrow James R Baker
Background: Evidence on the impact of community resources, such as public libraries as informal third places for social gathering and learning, on health and wellbeing of older adults is limited.
Aim: To examine longitudinal associations between public library engagement and various health and wellbeing outcomes.
Methods: Data from >12,000 (range:12,124-12,896) healthy community-dwelling older Australians (70+ years) were analysed. Library engagement (frequency of visits) was assessed at baseline and categorised as never, ≤3 times a month, or ≥once a week. An outcome-wide analytical approach was used to examine 44 health/wellbeing outcomes across physical, cognitive/major health events, psychological, social, and health behaviour domains, measured ~2 years post-baseline or >7 years for time-to event outcomes. Gender-disaggregated regressions were performed while controlling for multiple covariates, including prior outcome values.
Results: At baseline, participants were aged 70-95 years (mean:75.2±4.3), and 54.5% were women. Public library engagement was higher among women than men. Compared to non-users, library engagement was associated with better physical and cognitive outcomes (e.g., reduced dementia risk), social wellbeing (e.g., skill sharing in a dose-response relationship), and healthier behaviours (e.g., increased fruit and vegetable intake) at follow-up (Figure). No associations were found with most psychological outcomes.
Gender differences were observed: men had stronger associations with reduced disability and mortality over 7 years, while women showed associations with greater social wellbeing and health-promoting behaviours, and a higher fall risk ~2 years later.
Discussion: Public library engagement was associated with several positive health and wellbeing outcomes. Our findings suggest that integration of public libraries into broader public health strategies to promote various health outcomes could be beneficial.
