The International Perspectives and Initiatives Regular Feature seeks to expand the Health Information and Libraries Journal's global coverage of health library and knowledge practice. The current focus of this Regular Feature is how health library and knowledge services are responding to technological advances.
Background: Libraries provide public access to information that may be used to inform healthcare decisions. Exploring the health information needs of library-users could improve community health outcomes, especially during times of crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify the health information needs of library-users to explore the potential role of libraries in advancing community health.
Methods: A quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional survey was employed.
Results: One hundred and fifty participants in the (Memphis) Tennessee metropolitan area, ranging from 18 to 84 years of age, completed the survey between September 2020 and April 2021. Most respondents reported seeking physical and mental health-related information from libraries. In addition, nearly half of respondents reported delaying medical care due to risk of exposure to COVID-19, cost or appointment issues.
Discussion: Study results indicated that there were urgent health information needs among library-users in this community, that COVID-19 further limited or delayed access to information, and that library-users accessed health information during library visits.
Conclusion: Public libraries have the potential to serve as information hubs to improve community health outcomes. Additional research should be conducted to collect qualitative community health information needs and the ways in which public library systems can address them.
Clinicians' information-seeking behaviours impact patient care quality. Earlier studies indicated that barriers to accessing information deter clinicians from seeking answers to clinical questions.
To explore primary care clinicians' information-seeking behaviour at point-of-care, focusing on when and how they seek answers to clinical questions.
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 45 clinicians after clinical sessions to investigate their information-seeking habits. Follow-up interviews were conducted after a week for those intending to address unanswered queries.
Two thirds of clinicians encountered questions during care, with nearly three quarters resolving them during the session. Colleagues, guidelines and online platforms were common information sources, with smartphones being used to access Google, WhatsApp or UpToDate®. Facilitators included reliable sources and the drive to confirm knowledge, while barriers included ineffective search methods and high workload. Despite challenges, most clinicians expressed satisfaction with their information-seeking process.
The findings underscore the increasing use of smartphones for accessing clinical information among Singaporean primary care clinicians and suggest the need for tailored training programmes and guidelines to optimise information-seeking practices.
Insights from this study can inform the development of training programmes and guidelines aimed at improving information-seeking practices among primary care clinicians, potentially enhancing patient care quality.
Background: Health information and resources are often provided in hospital outpatient waiting areas but may not meet the cultural and health literacy needs of older adults from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds.
Objectives: To explore the perspectives and experiences of Cantonese- and Vietnamese-speaking patients and carers in this setting.
Methods: This qualitative interview-based study was conducted from December 2019 to March 2020 at a single outpatient rehabilitation service located at a tertiary public hospital. Four adult consumers (two older adult patients, two caregivers) from CALD backgrounds participated in semi-structured interviews with bilingual researchers. Data were transcribed, translated and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.
Results: Five themes were developed which highlighted that older adults' language profiles shaped their health information needs and ability to access resources in waiting areas. Cultural factors such as filial responsibility may also influence health information preferences.
Discussion: Older consumers from CALD backgrounds did not have equitable access to health information and resources in the waiting area compared with English-literate older adults.
Conclusion: Health information and resources in waiting areas warrant improving to better meet the needs of older patients from CALD backgrounds and their caregivers.
Imrana Ghumra, Past Health Libraries Group (HLG) Co-Chair and now HLG Conference Lead, revisits recent HLG conferences before sharing details of the exciting programme for 2024. Hosted at the Royal College of Physicians, London, 19–21 June 2024, the conference embraces the benefits of a hybrid event, offering both in-person and online opportunities to networking and to catch up with colleagues from across the country, across sectors and the profession, and embracing ideas and best practice.
The traditional qualifications and work of a health librarian may not, at first glance, seem like they readily lend themselves to the wider work of an organisation. Too often librarians are seen as experts in a small specialist field. However, as librarians, we know that at our core is extensive digital experience and knowledge as well as a core set of transferrable skills that can be adapted to meet the ever-changing needs of the organisation. This article describes how the library evidence team became part of a wider board project to develop a governance system for Apps. It also describes how the skills of librarians can be developed to work in this area and raise the profile of the team within the board.
Background: Recently, public health data dashboards have gained popularity as trusted, up-to-date sources of health information. However, their usability and usefulness may be limited.
Objective: To identify the requirements of usable public health data dashboards through a case study with domain experts.
Methods: Paired-user virtual data collection sessions were conducted with 20 experts in three steps: (1) a monitored use of an existing dashboard to complete tasks and discuss the usability problems, (2) a survey rating user experience, and (3) an interview regarding the users and use cases. Data analysis included quantitative analysis of the survey findings and thematic analysis of the audio transcripts.
Results: Analyses yielded several findings: (1) familiar charts with clear legends and labels should be used to focus users' attention on the content; (2) charts should be organized in a simple and consistent layout; (3) contextual information should be provided to help with interpretations; (4) data limitations should be clearly communicated; (5) guidance should be provided to lead user interactions.
Discussion: The identified requirements guide health librarians and information professionals in evaluating public health data dashboards.
Conclusion: Public health data dashboards should be designed based on users' needs to provide useful up-to-date information sources for health information consumers.
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.
Since the emergence of the first health library standards, a large body of literature has been published in this field, most often focusing on a particular standard, or set of standards. In the case of literature reviews, they have been usually partial and integrated into a broader study.
Identify and analyse national health library standards developed in different countries worldwide over the past 70 years, tracing their historical development and current status.
A comprehensive search of published literature was conducted in Scopus, Web of Science, Medline, LISA, and Google Scholar up to May 2023. The reference lists and citations of retrieved papers were reviewed. After screening and eligibility, a total of 112 papers were included in the final selection.
More than 40 national hospital library standards published by a group of Anglo-Saxon and European countries were identified. In a chronological approach, the standards have been arranged by decades, from the 1950s to the present day, and the context of their appearance, their main contributions, and the relationships between them have been analysed. The major trends that have marked their evolution and development over time have also been established.
Standards have a key role to play in the important challenge facing health libraries today to demonstrate the high impact and value of their services in the functioning of their organisations and in improving patient care.
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