Journal of the Medical Library Association最新文献

Background: The volume of online health information available makes it difficult to navigate and check its validity and reliability. A community-based MedlinePlus training program was developed to improve participants' ability to access credible online health information.

Case presentation: The program was a public-private partnership between a managed care organization and four local public libraries. A total of eight programs were held between October and November 2017. Each program had a 30-minute cooking demonstration followed by a 30-minute training on access to and navigation of the MedlinePlus website. Program participants were Medicaid beneficiaries, dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and community members from a Pennsylvania county (n=39). A pre-and post-training questionnaire was administered to assess participants' knowledge and practice, and their ability to access health information on the MedlinePlus website. We conducted a retrospective analysis of the data collected during the MedlinePlus trainings. Results from the Wilcoxon Signed Rank test indicated no statistically significant change in participants' ability to access information (Z= -1.41, p=0.16) after attending the program.

Conclusion: Although the median pre- to post-program responses improved from 'incorrect' to 'correct,' the number of programs held, and low attendance might be the reason for non-significant results. Participants reported that the program was informative, the website was comprehensive and user-friendly, and they were impressed by the healthy and inexpensive meal preparation from discount store-bought food. Holding MedlinePlus training programs in conjunction with a cooking program and collaborating with local public libraries might be a promising format that needs additional research.

Objective: The article reports on an assessment of the effectiveness of the MLA Research Training Institute (RTI) for the years 2018 and 2019. The RTI is a year-long continuing education research methods training and support program for health sciences librarians. The study focuses on assessing RTI participants' research confidence after program completion and compares these results with their perceptions of workshop/program performance and learning outcomes. In addition, the authors discuss how the findings were applied to inform and improve the program.

Methods: The study used a 26-item questionnaire, RTI Research Confidence Questionnaire, to gather information on participants' self-reported research confidence before the workshop, immediately after the workshop, and one year after the workshop to determine statistically significant differences. Differences in research confidence were identified by using three nonparametric statistical tests. Additional workshop and program surveys were used to corroborate the research confidence findings.

Results: Post-workshop and one-year-after-workshop research confidence ratings were significantly higher than pre-workshop levels for years 1 and 2. A comparison of median ratings between years 1 and 2 showed significant increases in research confidence for nine items in year 2. Participants' positive perceptions of workshop/program effectiveness and learning outcomes corroborated these findings.

Conclusion: Overall assessment findings indicated that RTI training helped participants understand, use, and apply research skills to conduct research. Findings also revealed that participants' heightened research confidence persisted at least 12 months postintervention. The RTI Research Confidence Questionnaire proved effective for rigorously assessing and improving the RTI program. This study enhances the currently limited evidence on evidence-based approaches for assessing and improving research instruction for librarians.

Objective: This study assesses the prevalence, usage, and impact of remote/hybrid work in academic health science libraries in 2022 and 2023. Due to differences in survey distribution, we focus primarily on the results of the second survey.

Methods: Researchers surveyed administrators at Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries (AAHSL) member libraries in the United States in March 2022 and library staff at academic health sciences libraries in March 2023.

Results: The first survey received 71 responses that met inclusion criteria. Ninety-five percent of respondents indicated that remote/hybrid work was allowed in their libraries. Majorities indicated that remote/hybrid work had a positive impact on morale (86%), recruitment (53%) and retention (67%). The second survey received 383 responses that met inclusion criteria. 78% of respondents indicated they were allowed to work remotely, and majorities indicated remote/hybrid work positively impacted work/life balance (75%), morale/job satisfaction (69%), likelihood of staying at their current institution (64%), and productivity/overall effectiveness (58%). Respondents were less likely to accept a fully onsite (45% unlikely) or fully remote (20% unlikely) position than a hybrid one (1% unlikely). In a list of 9 factors associated with recruitment, retention, and job satisfaction, only salary and benefits ranked higher than remote/hybrid work.

Conclusions: Remote/hybrid work is common in academic health science libraries and highly valued by employees. While not without challenges, remote/hybrid work appears to be a valuable tool to support recruitment, retention, and job satisfaction of workers in academic health sciences libraries. The findings of this study can inform library decision makers about future use of remote/hybrid work.

Background: Students regularly state a strong preference for increased library operational hours to accommodate learning needs. While many academic libraries provide extended hours, academic health sciences libraries appear to adopt such models less frequently. This is not due to lower levels of student demand for extended hours.

Case presentation: In response to student preferences for increased hours, our institution shifted its budget to provide an additional 10 weekend hours (Friday-Sunday). This study is a post-hoc assessment of temporal changes in physical library use over weekend days pre- and post-implementation of extended hours. This study used (non-exam) weekend physical library usage data one year before and after implementing extended hours (January 2018-January 2020). We ran descriptive statistics to assess the hourly use pattern changes in physical library usage.

Conclusion: For the regular academic year, students arrived earlier and stayed later, with less severe hourly peaks in opening and closing times physical use patterns seen in the pre-implementation period. Overall, we saw increases in all three areas of physical usage data studied. The data provides evidence of the true need for extended hours among users, along with hourly patterns reflecting a better match of hours with patron study patterns.

Objective: This qualitative research project was undertaken to discover how students perceive the embedded librarian in their nursing class. The researchers determined how a required group research meeting was valued by students and whether that value warranted the necessary time and energy by an embedded librarian.

Methods: Researchers conducted focus groups with twenty-three students from two different sections of the same nursing research methods undergraduate course. Students' responses to a series of five questions were recorded within Zoom and supplemented by handwritten notes. Data was coded by hand and patterns that emerged from the five focus groups were analyzed.

Results: Participants reported overall satisfaction with the embedded librarian and students felt they benefitted from the required research meeting with the librarian, which was part of the searching assignment rubric and closely tied to the assignment itself.

Conclusion: Based on the data, a required research meeting with an embedded librarian, who is familiar with the course assignments, reinforces classroom instruction, point-of-need assistance with search strategies, and the opportunity to strengthen the relationship with the librarian for future research needs.

Background: A shortage of images of pathology on diverse skin tones has been recognized for decades in health professions education. Identifying skin manifestations of disease depends on pattern recognition, which is difficult without visual examples. Lack of familiarity with visual diagnosis on skin of color can lead to delayed or missed diagnoses with increased morbidity and mortality. As the United States continues to increase in ethnic and racial diversity, addressing the disparity in health outcomes with education is vital.

Case presentation: At the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, students, librarians, and faculty came together to address this problem and develop a database of dermatological conditions in people with darker skin tones. A student group initiated a series of meetings with faculty to determine the best approach to address and enhance the representation of diversity in disease images within the curriculum. With the guidance of faculty and librarians, students performed a literature search and created a database of images of skin pathologies in people with darker skin tones. The database was disseminated to course directors and lecturers, and the noted disparities were corrected for the next cohort of students. The database provides an easily accessible resource for creating lecture slides.

Conclusion: This project brought awareness of the need for inclusivity and generated a broad review of the curriculum to be more representative of all patient populations. Most importantly, our experience provides a roadmap for institutional change through student, librarian and faculty collaboration and cultivation of a culture of optimism and acceptance.

Objective: To consider the approaches within Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) databases for limiting geographically. To compare the limits to an adaptation of NICE's UK MEDLINE filter for use on WoSCC databases.

Methods: We tested and appraised the inbuilt functions and search field options that support identification by countries/regions and affiliations. We compared these with an adapted filter to identify healthcare research on or about the UK. We calculated the recall of the inbuilt limits and filter using 177 studies and investigated why records were missed. We also calculated the percentage reduction of the overall number-needed-to-screen (ONNS).

Results: Inbuilt limits within WoSCC enable identification of research from specific countries/regions or affiliations if there is data in the address field. Refining by affiliations allows retrieval of research where affiliations are in the 200 or 500 most frequent for a set of results. An adaptation of the UK MEDLINE filter achieved an average of 97% recall. ONNS was significantly reduced using the filter. However, studies where the countries or regions are only mentioned within the full text or other non-searchable fields will be missed.

Conclusion: Information specialists should consider how inbuilt geographic limits operate on WoSCC and whether these are suitable for their research. The adapted filter can sensitively limit to the UK and could be useful for systematic reviews due to its high recall and ability to significantly reduce ONNS. Geographic filters can be feasible to adapt for use on WoSCC databases (where similar search fields are used between platforms).

Background: History and health humanities instruction offers a framework for professional students to examine the arc and development of their profession as well as develop cultural competencies. Exploring ideas, themes, and health care practices and approaches through historical instruction can show students how culture influences health care and practice, therefore providing a context for further development of cultural competence skills.

Case presentation: This case report describes a collaboration among a dentistry course instructor, a liaison librarian, and curators of a rare book collection. Working together, this team offers an active learning class that examines the historical arc of the dental profession. We aim to have students use primary source materials to examine the experiences, research, and narratives of their profession.

Discussion: Using a World Cafe with thematic tables allows students to safely examine rare materials and artifacts and have meaningful conversations about themes that are critical to dentistry's past, present, and future. Students reported that engaging with artifacts and historical materials provided a different way to understand history and enhanced their learning experience. Engaging students in this work builds critical thinking skills that are essential to evidence-based practice.

Background: Librarians play an important role on systematic review teams because of their expertise in information organization, database searching, and records management. Many systematic review training opportunities exist, but not all are tailored to the needs of librarians. The Medical Library Association, along with a workgroup of experts on systematic reviews and review services, developed a Systematic Review Services Specialization (SRSS) that was launched in 2022. One of the required courses in the specialization was developed by the authors, who set out to build a value-added curriculum that would provide essential searching skills for librarians working in evidence synthesis domains.

Case presentation: The authors present a case report on creating a framework for developing a new course in the Medical Library Association's Systematic Review Services Specialization. The objectives of the course were intended to align with six systematic review competencies for librarians developed and published by a group of health science librarians from the University of Michigan in 2017, which include 1) conducting a reference interview, 2) performing preliminary searches, 3) selecting appropriate resources to search, 4) building an extensive, comprehensive, and documented search strategy, 5) peer reviewing search strategies, and 6) reporting search methods. With these objectives in mind, the instructors created four separate modules and an activity.

Conclusion: Systematic review skills for librarians are essential to many health science library jobs since librarians are considered important collaborators within systematic review teams. Through eleven cohorts of the course held over 2022-2024, the authors constructed and delivered a comprehensive curriculum.

Diversity, flexibility, easy accessibility, broad continuing acceptance in developing countries and increasing popularity in developed countries, relative low cost, low levels of technological input, relative low side effects, and growing economic importance are some of the positive features of traditional medicine. In rural India, traditional medicine continues to be the only available form of care. Many communities continue to treat patients using their old methods, unaffected by contemporary medical advancements. Due to their accessibility, affordability, and ease of use, tribal tribes prefer to utilize and consult their own traditional healers. These are likewise thought to be highly effective and without any adverse effects. This paper aims to identify various traditional medicines used for treating illness and infirmities, by taking accounts from the residents of Chungtlang village, Mamit District, Mizoram. The objective here lies in discovering traditional knowledge of medicinal plants and their uses for various infirmities.