Applying a Health Justice Framework to Examine Health and Social Justice in LIS Course Offerings

Abstract

This study investigates the intersections of health and social justice topics in the library and information science (LIS) curriculum. Course offerings from 60 American Library Association-Accredited LIS programs were extracted and comprised the study sample. Using a thematic content analysis, a total of 220 course descriptions were analyzed to assess the inclusion of health justice topics. A main finding was that only eight LIS course descriptions closely integrated health and social justice issues. In addition, four overarching thematic areas of LIS courses were identified from the dataset as conceptual pathways with the potential to further incorporate health justice aspects in LIS coursework. Recommendations for how to expand course offerings in these areas are explored. Overall, these preliminary findings help to map the existing health and social justice curricula and contribute the LIS educator viewpoint for both reducing health disparities and advancing health justice conversations.

Citation

Vardell, E. and Charbonneau, D.H. (2020), "Applying a Health Justice Framework to Examine Health and Social Justice in LIS Course Offerings", Jean, B.S., Jindal, G., Liao, Y. and Jaeger, P.T. (Ed.) Roles and Responsibilities of Libraries in Increasing Consumer Health Literacy and Reducing Health Disparities (Advances in Librarianship, Vol. 47), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 83-100. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0065-283020200000047004