Knowledge Level of Librarians and Their Preferred Information Resources on Cardio-Vascular Disease Risk Factors: Case of Librarians in Nnamdi Azikiwe University Library, Nigeria
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Abstract
Background: Cardiovascular Disease has been proven by experts to be one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality across the globe. Therefore, there is a need for adequate modification in lifestyle and strategies among librarians towards improving their health in order to curb this menace. The study was guided by seven research questions.
Methods: The study used a descriptive survey research design. The population of the study comprised 31 professional librarians who work in Professor Festus Aghagbo Nwako Library Awka. It was quantitative research that used a self-designed questionnaire as an instrument for data collection. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency and percentage.
Results: Out of 31 librarians, 29 were female, and 2 were male. It was found that the extent of the awareness of librarians on CVD had a grand mean score of 2.78, which is above the criterion mean of 2.50. This shows that librarians actually have a need for information on CVD. However, librarians were aware of CVD, as the majority of them were able to describe and identify some CVD conditions.
Conclusion: Findings from this study also revealed that the majority of the librarians were involved in a moderately active lifestyle, and this could be a result of their increased knowledge level. In addition, there is a need for librarians to improve their risk scores by practising health-promoting behaviours like increased physical activity and blood pressure control. The findings have challenged stakeholders in the health industry to strategically enhance their efforts across various areas of practice to improve awareness among librarians in order to reduce the risk factors that bring about health issues.
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