Health Information and Libraries Journal最新文献

Background

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.

Objectives

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).

Methods

Two focus group discussions were held with CHWs in eastern NC and one in western NC in February 2020.

Results

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.

Discussion

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.

Conclusion

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.

Background

Public librarians often address patron inquiries regarding health concerns. However, prior research indicates that public librarians may be unprepared to meet the health information requests of patrons.

Objective

This study examined the availability of health-themed courses in American Library Association (ALA) accredited Master of Library and Information Studies/Science (MLIS) programs.

Methods

Accredited MLIS programs were identified using the ALA directory. Curricula were reviewed for health content and public librarianship, children's, and young adult concentrations. Descriptive and bivariate analyses assessed the percent of programs that offered various health-related course content and the differences in availability of such content.

Results

Of the 59 accredited MLIS programs, only 35 (59.32%) listed at least one health elective and none listed a required health course. No MLIS programs that had a public library concentration (n = 21) listed a required or elective health course, two programs with a children's concentration (n = 25) listed health course electives, and one program with a young adult concentration (n = 25) listed a health course elective.

Conclusion

ALA-accredited MLIS programs should consider increasing their offerings or requiring health-related courses to improve the training of public librarians to meet the health information needs of communities.

Background

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.

Objective

To develop and validate search filters to retrieve evidence on adverse drug effects from Ovid medline and Ovid Embase.

Methods

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.

Results

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.

Conclusion

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.

Background

Many adolescents believe that online health information is reliable, particularly when they are familiar with the source of information.

Objective

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.

Methods

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.

Results

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.

Conclusion

This study provides clues about how online health-related information can be used to adjust and enhance health promotion amongst adolescents.

Background

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.

Objectives

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.

Methods

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.

Discussion

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.

Conclusions

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.

Background

The study investigated the research data management (RDM) practices of biomedical researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) representing various biomedical disciplines.

Objectives

This study aimed to analyse the state of biomedical researchers' RDM practices based on RDM practice levels (individual, laboratory, institution and external). The findings of the study are expected to provide directions to information professionals for effective RDM services.

Methods

Semi-structured interviews with 11 researchers were conducted. The interviews were analysed by levels of RDM practices.

Results

The findings revealed that biomedical researchers focus on storing and sharing data and that RDM is performed mainly at the individual level. There seems to be a lack of laboratory level RDM system that allows consistent RDM practices among researchers. External RDM practice is often challenged by not having one responsible for RDM.

Discussion

Findings suggested a need for an agreed RDM system and customized support, particularly at the laboratory level. Also, institutional support can help researchers prepare for long term data preservation.

Conclusion

Our suggestions emphasize the importance of RDM training and support for long term data preservation, especially at the laboratory level.