Accelerating Dialogue on Health and LIS

Abstract

It is our goal to accelerate dialogue on the intersections of health and LIS through an engaging and collaborative panel in which both the panelists and audience participate in a dialog that highlights research and engagement with students on this topic. Panelists include:

• Barbara A. Alvarez, Sexual and reproductive health information in public libraries. This brief talk discusses findings from a national study about sexual and reproductive health information in public libraries. Exploring concepts like library anxiety, abortion stigma, and intellectual freedom, this presentation considers how libraries can participate in making sexual and reproductive health information more widely available.
• Beth Bloch, Just a Scientist Living in an Engineer's World: Epistemological Hierarchies and Values Implications in Biomedical Engineering. This study investigates the identity and value conflicts faced by biomedical engineers and reveals an enculturated preference for engineering approaches over scientific ones. By analyzing responses from interviews and surveys, it sheds light on the educational and practical implications of fostering epistemological hierarchies among interdisciplinary researchers designing novel biomedical technologies.
• Jesselyn Dreeszen Bowman and Leah T. Dudak are disabled/chronically ill scholars who have written and analyzed an autoethnography about being disabled in conference spaces through theories of crip time as opposed to neoliberalism in academia. In this, we will focus on our suggestions for changes to conferences to make them more healthy and accessible for disabled bodies.
• Abigail L. Phillips, Pleas from billboards and hopeful messages on posters encourage those struggling with mental crises to reach out to timely health support, call 988, and/or text a crisis line. As promising as these services are, the reality is that these hotlines, text lines, and warm lines often have a significant wait period and/or are inadequately staffed to properly help. What happens when emergency mental health resources offer much more than they can deliver? Lack of sufficient funding, confusing/odd hours of operation, and an overwhelmed staff leaves a distressing gap for this critical, lifesaving services.
• Emily Vardell, Infertility impacts one in every eight couples; however, there is a lack of information and a social stigma that impacts information practices. Participants in a qualitative study described seeking information to counteract difficult emotional responses and obtain a sense of control. High levels of emotional and physical investment may lead to the experience of feeling consumed by information.

Following mini-talks on these five topics, the panel discussion will open to the audience to share their ideas related to teaching, researching, and experiencing health within LIS. All are welcome to participate in this conversation.