Health Information and Libraries Journal最新文献

Background: Cancer health campaigns provide information to drive early detection.

Objective: To examine the effect of cancer fear on cancer screening focusing on the mediating role of loss aversion, a concept derived from prospect theory. We hypothesize that fear initiates negative beliefs that cancer can cause the loss of way of life leading to information avoidance, and indirectly influences cancer screening intentions. This theoretical model is conditional, in that one's degree of self-efficacy moderates cancer screening intentions.

Methods: A cross-sectional sample (N = 371), aged 35 to 70, recruited via an online panel. Participants completed a questionnaire containing demographic and examined variables. Using conditional process, we tested the proposed theoretical framework.

Results: Cancer fear was positively associated with cancer screening, and an indirect path was found where loss aversion and information avoidance negatively mediated the relationship. Self-efficacy was found to significantly moderate information avoidance and cancer screening intentions. Among those who reported high information avoidance, less self-efficacious individuals had lower cancer screening intentions compared to those more self-efficacious.

Conclusion: We confirm extant literature that negative views of cancer lead to loss aversion and information avoidance. Using prospect theory can help make messaging for cancer screening more effective.

Community health workers are responsible for finding, processing, and transferring health information to communities with limited access to health-related resources, including farmworkers. This paper is the culmination of an undergraduate student research project to explore the learning processes and preferences of farmworker-serving community health workers in the USA. The project was designed for students from farmworker or agricultural backgrounds at two North Carolina universities and was supported by a North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services workforce development grant. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, in person and virtually, with a convenience sample of 17 current and former community health workers. The interview data were analysed thematically and identified a preference for a combination of learning styles, with visual and hands-on learning being the most preferred. Community health workers also identified the importance of learning preferences in relation to their responsibilities as health educators. This study provides librarians, along with public health and medical professionals, with useful information about learning preferences to inform the creation of new and varied learning materials for community health workers.

This article presents an analysis of seven articles published within the International Perspectives and Initiatives regular feature series on the impact of technology on the provision of health information. The articles provide a road map of how technology is facilitating new and enhanced services for library users in seven countries: Australia, Bangladesh, China, England, Germany, Sweden and the United States. Although there are differences in how countries are implementing technological solutions, only one describes problems in leveraging technology to improve library services. Authors from the remaining six countries describe how they ensure that the 21st century library consults with its user groups and find way of using the latest applications.

Medical and health sciences librarians who are involved in evidence synthesis projects will know that systematic reviews are intensely rigorous, requiring research teams to devote significant resources to the methodological process. As expert searchers, librarians are often identified as personnel to conduct the database searching portion and/or are approached as experts in the methodology to guide research teams through the lifecycle of the project. This research method has surged in popularity at our campus and demand for librarian participation is unsustainable. As a response to this, the library created self-directed learning objects in the form of roadmap to assist researchers in learning about the knowledge synthesis methodology in an expedient, self-directed manner. This paper will discuss the creation, implementation and feedback around our educational offering: Systematic & Scoping Reviews: Your Roadmap to Conducting an Evidence Synthesis.

Background: The Library and Knowledge Services at the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust has been at its current location since 1975 and, in September 2020, it was deemed necessary to examine the library environment and assess the signage.

Objectives: The main objective was to conduct a methodical assessment of all the current library signage in order to improve the library environment, wayfinding, and clarity.

Methods: A methodical signage audit was conducted by library staff, photographing signs, assigning them to categories, and creating a signage map.

Results: In total, 58 different signs were counted in the library. Of these, 22 signs were deemed satisfactory, 4 should be moved to a more appropriate location, 15 should be updated with a branded design and better messaging, and 17 were recommended for removal.

Discussion: The results demonstrated that there were three main areas where signage could be improved: reducing the quantity of signs, updating the language and design, and the use of ad hoc signage.

Conclusion: By assessing the signs and assigning categories and types, areas were identified as problem points that were impacting the library user's experience and small changes were implemented to improve the library environment.

Background: Stakeholders working on the COVID-19 pandemic response needed access to evidence, requiring a systematic approach to identify and disseminate relevant research.

Objectives: Outline the stages of development of a COVID-19 Literature Digest; demonstrate the impact the Digest had on decision-making and knowledge gain; identify the lessons learned.

Methods: A standardised process was developed to identify and select papers. The main sources for content were PubMed, bioRxiv and medRxiv. A shared EndNote library was used to deduplicate and organise papers. Three user surveys obtained feedback from subscribers to determine if the Digest remained valuable, and explore the benefits to individuals.

Results: 40-60 papers were summarised each week. 211 Digests were produced from March 2020 to March 2022, with around 10,000 papers included altogether. Survey results suggest benefits of the Digest were gaining new knowledge, saving time and contributing to evidence-based decision making.

Discussion: Digest procedures constantly evolved and were adapted in response to survey feedback. Lessons identified: learn from failure, communication is key, measure your impact, work collaboratively, reflect and be flexible.

Conclusion: The Digest was successfully produced within the limits of available resource. The learning from this Digest will inform evidence monitoring, selection and dissemination for future health crises.

In this editorial, Anthea Sutton and Veronica Parisi reflect on ChatGPT, how it may contribute to systematic searching, and provide their overview of some recent training they attended on ChatGPT, AI and systematic literature reviews.