Wash and Learn: Health Literacy in Laundromats

Health literacy is a critical pathway to better health outcomes. Yet for countless low-income families, health resources like those on MedlinePlus are simply out of reach. Some are unaware of its existence while others simply lack the digital skills to find what they're looking for. By meeting people where they are-while waiting at the laundromat-Libraries Without Borders LWB strives to empower low-income families with the information they seek in a manner that conforms to their everyday schedule. In partnership with the Allegheny County Library Association ACLA, we will facilitate health literacy programs inside Sudsy's laundromat in South Park Township, PA. Once the site is set-up, we will convene community-based organizations and health providers to offer services at the laundromat according to the needs identified by librarians. We will write and publish a case study drawn from the experience of ACLA in order to gather best practices that build upon our past health literacy work in laundromats, including a recent NNLM-supported program in Minnesota. These findings will enable us to better train libraries and librarians how to integrate health literacy into the Wash and Learn Initiative, a national program led by LWB to provide educational resources in laundromats.