Quality assurance (QA) is an important process in ensuring that systematic reviews and other evidence syntheses are supported by a high-quality search. This paper describes how the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in the UK established a development pathway to ensure its information specialists had the skills, knowledge and confidence to undertake search QA. The key component of the pathway is that it blends technical knowledge with interpersonal skills. The pathway develops technical skills in the early steps before using peer support activities to build confidence while undertaking a range of searches. QA is effective when the search lead communicates the contextual information that has influenced search development. QA is treated as a collaboration to get the right search for the review. The key requirements for search QA, alongside technical knowledge, are communication, collaboration and negotiation skills.
This study investigated the topic of the academic integrity among medical students and postgraduate trainees in the teaching hospitals of South Punjab, Pakistan. A cross-sectional survey was conducted involving 318 medical students and postgraduate trainees of teaching hospitals. The results found that medical students of pre-clinical years engaged in unethical behaviour, that is, exam cheating and plagiarism to cope with internal and external evaluation and the range of subjects needed to be studied. For postgraduate trainees, results showed trainees unintentionally engaged in the practice of plagiarism due to lack of understanding about what constitutes plagiarism, coupled with externally perceived pressures associated with expectations of research publication, promotions and tenured positions. To address these concerns, it is recommended that information literacy sessions for undergraduate and postgraduate medical students on plagiarism prevention and ethical practice be designed and facilitated by medical librarians in collaboration of faculty members.
Health science libraries have been using information technology since the late 1960s, shaping both the profession and the mission of these libraries. To explore the impact of technology, a series of articles has been commissioned for the HILJ Regular Feature, International Perspectives and Initiatives. This editorial sets the scene for this series of articles, which starts in this issue. These articles, written by health science librarians from around the globe, will explore the impact of technology on the way health science libraries provide information in the digital age. Some articles will look at national trends and others will focus on a particular library. A key theme is how technology is being used to support the mission of health science libraries and whether technology has altered that mission. This editorial provides a brief overview of the technologies libraries have adopted, from the 1970s to the present day. From this, it is clear that information technology has transformed the way health information is collected, catalogued, and disseminated to users. And it is certain that in the coming decade new technologies will be incorporated into health science libraries, which will pose challenges for both users and librarians. However, librarians will continue to find ways to adapt and use these tools to meet the needs of their users.
National Health Service (NHS) knowledge and library services in England are integrating digital advances into their systems and services. Health Education England (HEE) leads on the development of NHS library services. A key workstream focuses on (1) improving the infrastructure to enable discovery and management of digital knowledge resources; (2) collaborating with local teams to establish regional library management systems that are integrated with the new national discovery service for healthcare staff and learners. This article explores initiatives on resource discovery as well as the need for system-wide partnership working to ensure that biomedical knowledge in computable form is findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable. Low levels of health and digital literacy pose a significant barrier to using health information and accessing health services. A range of interventions are aimed at enhancing citizens' digital and health literacy skills. The education and life-long learning needs of the knowledge and library services workforce are considered. Working with CILIP and higher education institutions, HEE delivers a range of educational offers through its Learning Academy. As Artificial Intelligence and automation are implemented in health systems, knowledge and library staff form a crucial bridge between technology and those who use it.
Increasing affordability, accessibility and penetration of internet services worldwide, have substantially changed the ways of gathering health-related information. This has led to the origin of concept infodemiology that allows the information to be collected and analysed in near real time. Globally, oral diseases affect nearly 3.5 billion people; thus, volume and profile of oral health searches would help in understanding specific community dental needs and formulation of pertinent oral health strategies.
To review the published literature on infodemiological aspects of oral health and disease.
This scoping review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Electronic search engines (Google Scholar) and databases (PubMed, Web of science, Scopus) were searched from 2002 onwards.
Thirty-eight articles were included in this review. The infodemiological studies for oral health and disease were mainly used in two domains. Out of 38 articles, 24 accessed the quality of available online information and 15 studied online oral health-related information seeking behaviour.
The most commonly searched oral diseases were toothache, oral cancer, dental caries, periodontal disease, oral maxillofacial surgical procedures and paediatric oral diseases. Most of the studies belonged to developed countries and Google was the most researched search engine.
Studies on information behaviour related to companion animal's (pet) health have been carried out in different contexts and there have been attempts to modify and idealize these information behaviours.
The purpose of this study is to apply the Pet Health Information Behaviour Intervention model in an empirical context and elaborate the theoretical contribution of the model to information behaviour research in the context of pet care and management.
All the variables of the proposed model were quantified and tested through case study research involving 20 participants. Each case consisted of a guardian who participated in the information intervention program with their cat(s) and/or dog(s) in a small animal hospital, with a follow-up interview after 2 weeks.
The information prescription helped both the experienced Internet searchers and the less health literate guardians. The pet guardians were particularly appreciative of the advice on evaluating and using online health information. The higher guardian-pet bond, the more the participant used the tips to search online information. The information prescription helped the relationship with the veterinary professional through improved data gathering and perception of the professional-guardian partnership.
The model will assist both information professionals and animal health providers to better design and evaluate information interventions that support pet welfare.
As many people relied on information from the Internet for official scientific or academically affiliated information during the COVID-19 pandemic, the quality of information on those websites should be good.
The main purpose of this study was to evaluate a selection of COVID-19-related websites for the quality of health information provided.
Using Google and Yahoo, 36 English language websites were selected, in accordance with the inclusion criteria. The two tools were selected for evaluation were the Health on the Net (HON) Code and the 16-item DISCERN tool.
Most websites (39%) were related to information for the public, and a small number of them (3%) concerned screening websites in which people could be informed of their possible condition by entering their symptoms. The result of the evaluation by the HON tool showed that most websites were reliable (53%), and 44% of them were very reliable. Based on the assessment results of the Likert-based 16-item DISCERN tool, the maximum and minimum values for the average scores of each website were calculated as 2.44 and 4.25, respectively.
Evaluation using two widely accepted tools shows that most websites related to COVID-19 are reliable and useful for physicians, researchers and the public.
Invitation to health information students and early career health information workers new to writing for publication to share evaluations of existing services or investigations into service improvement.
There is little information on Internet use for obtaining mental health information among individuals with chronic psychiatric disorders, who are receiving services from community mental health centres (CMHCs).
To investigate the mental health information-seeking behaviour of individuals with chronic psychiatric disorders who attend CMHCs.
This is a cross-sectional descriptive study. The data was collected by questionnaire (structured interview format) (n = 135 participants). The collected data were analysed with descriptive statistics and chi-square test.
It was found that 75.6% of the participants used the internet to search for information about mental health problems. Although the information retrieved from the internet was frequently or occasionally shared with the mental health team (19.6% and 40.2% of the participants, respectively), general online communication with professionals was rare (93.1% of the participants had not contacted mental health professionals).
Most participants looked for information about their mental health on the internet. Therefore, mental health professionals should consider how to facilitate professional-patient therapeutic communication, with acknowledged Internet use by individuals with chronic psychiatric disorders.
With international health challenges, there are opportunities for collaboration between nations on health issues, including developing and sharing resources for teaching and learning. This article outlines collaboration across Scotland and England to develop a core resource for eLearning on health literacy. It describes the development of the resource with case studies of the implementation in Scotland and England, demonstrating the balance between shared development and tailored implementation. The eLearning was developed to increase awareness of NHS workforce and community partners, supplemented by training for NHS librarians and public health specialists to enable them to provide more tailored training on health literacy techniques.
During the COVID-19 pandemic period, the level of anxiety and the duration of social media use increased in university students.
This study aimed to examine the relationship between coronavirus anxiety and social media addiction in university students.
The sample consisted of 346 university students in Turkey. The data were collected online using the Sociodemographic Data Form, the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale Short Form and the Social Network Addiction Scale. The data were analysed using one-way analysis of variance, Mann–Whitney U test, Pearson correlation analysis, chi-square analysis and multiple linear regression analysis.
The results showed that the mean coronavirus anxiety score was higher in men than in women. Social media addiction increased as the daily time spent by the students on social media increased. A positive correlation was found between the daily time spent on social media before the pandemic and social media usage during the pandemic. It was concluded that students use social media more during the pandemic than before it and that social media addiction increases as the students' coronavirus anxiety increases.
It is important to plan initiatives to reduce coronavirus anxiety to prevent social media addiction in young people.
The research population consisted of 1st and 2nd year students who are studying in the Medical Services and Techniques Department of Vocational School of Health Services at a university located in the west of Turkey, during the Fall Term of academic year 2020–2021. Students in this department are studying in anaesthesia, dialysis, first and emergency aid, medical laboratory techniques, medical imaging technique, and medical documentation and secretarial programmes.
As follow-up to their previous survey on health information outreach (HIO) in 2010, the authors became interested in the evolving nature of HIO activities at academic libraries within the past decade.
The aim of this study was to understand how HIO activities at academic libraries have evolved since 2010, especially considering the current COVID-19 pandemic.
An online survey, designed to collect quantitative data on general HIO activities and qualitative data specifically on COVID-19 information outreach, was distributed to over 1700 librarians at US general academic and academic health science libraries.
Two hundred and fifty-five respondents completed the survey. Quantitative findings generally paralleled the 2010 results, except in a few areas. Most notably, a greater percentage of librarians in 2020 were participating in HIO (44%) than in 2010 (37%). Qualitative findings revealed that librarians are leveraging traditional information services and implementing innovative partnerships to promote reputable health information resources on COVID-19.
Evidence suggests that further engagement and campus partnerships can enhance libraries' supportive roles as trustworthy purveyors of quality health information.
US academic librarians are increasingly engaging in HIO to support the health information needs of campus communities and should consider aligning outreach activities with national health goals.
Despite the disproportionate impact of the novel coronavirus on Black Americans, there is little research that centres Black college students' information behaviours during the pandemic.
The objective of this study is to identify information needs, resources and use regarding the novel coronavirus pandemic among Black American college students.
This is a quantitative study among 389 college students in the USA. Data were collected using an online crowdsourced survey instrument. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse data through SPSS.
The most salient information needs related to Covid-19 symptoms, personal protective equipment, vulnerable populations, and risk assessment; however, students also wanted information on Covid-19's impact on the Black community. There were no statistically significant gender differences in students' information seeking, resources or use with one exception; male students believed the internet alone could provide all relevant information about the coronavirus in comparison to female students. Barriers related to the volume of information, information fluidity and determining the quality of information.
Colleges and universities can play a critical role in information dissemination during crisis events. Students need critical information literacy skills that intersect with everyday information needs, particularly health literacy.
Community health workers (CHWs) bridge the gap in health and social services delivery for marginalized communities, providing critical health information to those with limited access to health resources.
The purpose of our study was to understand CHWs' approaches to identifying salient and credible health information for migrant and seasonal farmworkers in rural North Carolina (NC).
Two focus group discussions were held with CHWs in eastern NC and one in western NC in February 2020.
CHWs seek health information on chronic health conditions disproportionately experienced by farmworkers such as diabetes and high blood pressure. They search for information from existing resources in their possession, via the internet, and through consultation with health professionals. CHWs also verify the information and transform the content into resources that are accessible to farmworkers.
Our findings suggest that CHWs possess a strong set of information literacy skills that could be enhanced through additional training in crediting sources, creating new materials, and organization and storage.
This study adds to the very limited body of knowledge about how CHWs seek and transmit information to their communities and sheds light on their information need and literacy abilities.
The most current objectively derived search filters for adverse drug effects are 15 years old and other strategies have not been developed and tested empirically.
To develop and validate search filters to retrieve evidence on adverse drug effects from Ovid medline and Ovid Embase.
We identified systematic reviews of adverse drug effects in Epistemonikos. From these reviews, we collated their included studies which we then randomly divided into three tests and one validation set of records. We constructed a search strategy to maximise relative recall using word frequency analysis with test set one. This search strategy was then refined using test sets two and three and validated on the final set of records.
Of 107 systematic reviews which met our inclusion criteria, 1948 unique included studies were available from medline and 1980 from Embase.
Generic adverse drug effects searches in medline and Embase achieved 90% and 89% relative recall, respectively. When specific adverse effects terms were added recall was improved.
We have derived and validated search filters that retrieve around 90% of records with adverse drug effects data in medline and Embase. The addition of specific adverse effects terms is required to achieve higher recall.
Many adolescents believe that online health information is reliable, particularly when they are familiar with the source of information.
To analyse the degree of influence of online health information on high school students' health decisions and examine whether socio-demographic characteristics, digital literacy, use of different websites and interest in specific health topics are associated with a stronger influence of online health information on adolescents' health-related decisions.
Participants were students from four public high schools in Belgrade, Serbia. Socio-demographic and behavioural questionnaire as well as the e-health literacy scale (eHEALS) were used to collect data.
The study sample comprised 702 students. A total of 79.6% of students reported that online health information influenced their health decisions to a certain extent (from ‘a little’ to ‘a lot’). Being a boy, using the internet since younger age, better self-perceived e-health literacy, using health apps, Google, health forums, websites of health institutions, social media and YouTube, being interested in diet/nutrition, sexually transmitted infections and cigarettes were the characteristics associated with a stronger influence of online health information on students' health decisions.
This study provides clues about how online health-related information can be used to adjust and enhance health promotion amongst adolescents.
Although many health information seeking studies are concerned with longer range outcomes (e.g. patient-provider communication) the immediate outcomes for the searchers are whether they found the desired information, for whom and how successfully.
To examine the association between health information seeking via various sources and the reported extent of success in getting the desired information the information needs perspective.
Data were obtained from the 2017 Israel Social Survey and analysed using multinomial regression models. The sample included individuals who reported engaging in seeking health information prior to the survey and mentioned the extent of success in obtaining the desired health information (fully, partially, or not-at-all) (N = 2197). Multinominal regression technique served for the multivariable analysis.
Engagement in health information seeking via friends, family and using various websites (excluding those by Ministry of Health and Health Funds) was associated with the increased likelihood of partial success in getting the desired information. Education level and population group, affected level of success.
The (partial) success in meeting health consumers' information needs is associated with the turn to particular sources. Public health professionals and health provider institutions should improve provision and delivery of health information to meet consumer health information needs.
Supplementary search methods, including citation searching, are essential if systematic reviews are to avoid producing biased conclusions. Little evidence exists on how to prioritise databases for citation searching or to establish whether using multiple sources is beneficial.
A systematic review examining urgent and emergency care reconfiguration was used to investigate the utility of citation searching on Web of Science (WOS) and/or Google Scholar (GS).
This case study investigated numbers of studies, additional studies and unique studies retrieved from both sources. In addition, the time to search, the ease of adding references to reference management software and obtaining abstracts of studies for screening are briefly considered.
WOS retrieved 62 references after deduplication of the results, 52 being additional references not retrieved during the database searching. GS retrieved 134 unique references with 63 additional references. WOS and GS retrieved the same three additional included studies. WOS was less time intensive to search given the facility to restrict to English language papers and availability of abstracts.
In a single systematic review case study, citation searching was required to identify all included studies. Citation searching on WOS is more efficient, where a subscription is available. Both databases identified the same studies but GS required additional time to remove non-English language studies and locate abstracts.
Artificial intelligence (AI) offers a promising solution to expedite various phases of the systematic review process such as screening.
We aimed to assess the accuracy of an AI tool in identifying eligible references for a systematic review compared to identification by human assessors.
For the case study (a systematic review of knowledge translation interventions), we used a diagnostic accuracy design and independently assessed for eligibility a set of articles (n = 300) using human raters and the AI system DistillerAI (Evidence Partners, Ottawa, Canada). We analysed a series of 64 possible confidence levels for the AI’s decisions and calculated several standard parameters of diagnostic accuracy for each.
When set to a lower AI confidence threshold of 0.1 or greater and an upper threshold of 0.9 or lower, DistillerAI made article selection decisions very similarly to human assessors. Within this range, DistillerAI made a decision on the majority of articles (93–100%), with a sensitivity of 1.0 and specificity ranging from 0.9 to 1.0.
DistillerAI appears to be accurate in its assessment of articles in a case study of 300 articles. Further experimentation with DistillerAI will establish its performance among other subject areas.
A challenge when using Google Search to identify studies for a systematic review is managing the high number of results, which can number in the hundreds of thousands or even more. Studies and guidance on web searching suggest limiting the screening process, e.g. to the first 100 results.
Our objective in this case study is to demonstrate an alternative approach to screening the results retrieved by Google Search which is based on our experience that the viewable number of results is often far fewer than the estimated number calculated by the search engine.
We screened the results of three searches of Google Search using our approach, which involves increasing the number of results displayed per page from 10 to the maximum of 100. We then calculated the viewable number of results and compared this with the estimated number.
The mean of the estimated number of results for the three searches was 569,454,000. The mean of the viewable number results was 463 (0.00008% of the mean of the estimated number of results).
Our findings challenge the commonly reported view that the number of results retrieved when using Google Search is too high to screen in full.
Access to reliable and credible health information improves individuals’ personal care level in crises, such as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. It subsequently results in enhancing the community's health and reducing the health system's costs.
This study aimed to investigate the COVID-19 related information seeking behaviour demonstrated by citizens in Isfahan, Iran.
This research was conducted in 2020 and employed a qualitative approach using conventional content analysis. The research population was selected from almost different social classes of people in Iran using purposive sampling. The saturation point was reached at 24 semi-structured interviews. The data's soundness was confirmed based on the criteria of credibility, confirmability, dependability and transferability proposed by Guba and Lincoln.
The findings revealed five subcategories and 25 codes within the information seeking behaviour. The subcategories included attitude towards the COVID-19 crisis, information needs, information resources, information validation and information seeking barriers.
People seek information from various resources to update their knowledge and become more prepared in the face of COVID-19. The findings can be used to develop policies on informing and preventing the dissemination of false information in crises, such as the COVID-19 crisis.
Degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) is a recently proposed umbrella term for symptomatic cervical spinal cord compression secondary to degeneration of the spine. Currently literature searching for DCM is challenged by the inconsistent uptake of the term ‘DCM’ with many overlapping keywords and numerous synonyms.
Here, we adapt our previous Ovid medline search filter for the Ovid embase database, to support comprehensive literature searching. Both embase and medline are recommended as a minimum for systematic reviews.
References contained within embase identified in our prior study formed a ‘development gold standard’ reference database (N = 220). The search filter was adapted for embase and checked against the reference database. The filter was then validated against the ‘validation gold standard’.
A direct translation was not possible, as medline indexing for DCM and the keywords search field were not available in embase. We also used the ‘focus’ function to improve precision. The resulting search filter has 100% sensitivity in testing.
We have developed a validated search filter capable of retrieving DCM references in embase with high sensitivity. In the absence of consistent terminology and indexing, this will support more efficient and robust evidence synthesis in the field.
Library websites are important for marketing library services and providing access to electronic resources.
To determine the extent and quality of medical college (school) library websites in Pakistan, according to predetermined criteria.
A checklist of 40 items was developed from the literature on academic library website evaluation as well as observation of known best practice. The checklist was used on the 45 medical college websites that fitted initial inclusion criteria.
Of the possible 114 candidates for inclusion, 52 institution websites contained no information about the library, 17 only provided minimum details, leaving 45 medical college library websites that could be included. Library websites lack uniformity, and most of the important features as only three library websites contained more than 20 items from the checklist. The Agha Khan University Medical College, Karachi library website contained the highest (27) number of items.
The findings indicate the design of medical college library websites is generally inadequate in Pakistan. The websites are not performing a useful role in communicating with faculty and students. The findings point to inadequate website design skills among librarians or the lack of co-operation with professional website designers.
Marketing of library services and good customer relations demand improvements in the information architecture of medical college library websites as well as continued maintenance of the content to ensure that it is up to date.