A validated search assessment tool: assessing practice-based learning and improvement in a residency program

Objective:

The objective of this study was to validate an assessment instrument for MEDLINE search strategies at an academic medical center.

Method:

Two approaches were used to investigate if the search assessment tool could capture performance differences in search strategy construction. First, data from an evaluation of MEDLINE searches from a pediatric resident''s longitudinal assessment were investigated. Second, a cross-section of search strategies from residents in one incoming class was compared with strategies of residents graduating a year later. MEDLINE search strategies formulated by faculty who had been identified as having search expertise were used as a gold standard comparison. Participants were presented with a clinical scenario and asked to identify the search question and conduct a MEDLINE search. Two librarians rated the blinded search strategies.

Results:

Search strategy scores were significantly higher for residents who received training than the comparison group with no training. There was no significant difference in search strategy scores between senior residents who received training and faculty experts.

Conclusion:

The results provide evidence for the validity of the instrument to evaluate MEDLINE search strategies. This assessment tool can measure improvements in information-seeking skills and provide data to fulfill Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education competencies.

Highlights

• The University of Michigan MEDLINE Search Assessment tool can be used to assess search skills in residency education.
• Five elements were identified as critical elements in the development of an effective MEDLINE search strategy: inclusion of all search concepts, appropriate use of Medical Subject Headings, appropriate use of search limits, successful combination of all concepts, and search efficiency.

Implications

• This validated assessment tool can serve as an effective means to measure improvements in residents'' information-seeking skills and provide data to fulfill Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education competencies.

     

Putting the pieces together: endometriosis blogs,cognitive authority,and collaborative information behavior

Objective:

A discourse analysis was conducted of peer-written blogs about the chronic illness endometriosis to understand how bloggers present information sources and make cases for and against the authority of those sources.

Methods:

Eleven blogs that were authored by endometriosis patients and focused exclusively or primarily on the authors'' experiences with endometriosis were selected. After selecting segments in which the bloggers invoked forms of knowledge and sources of evidence, the text was discursively analyzed to reveal how bloggers establish and dispute the authority of the sources they invoke.

Results:

When discussing and refuting authority, the bloggers invoked many sources of evidence, including experiential, peer-provided, biomedical, and intuitive ones. Additionally, they made and disputed claims of cognitive authority via two interpretive repertoires: a concern about the role and interests of the pharmaceutical industry and an understanding of endometriosis as extremely idiosyncratic. Affective authority of information sources was also identified, which presented as social context, situational similarity, or aesthetic or spiritual factors.

Conclusions:

Endometriosis patients may find informational value in blogs, especially for affective support and epistemic experience. Traditional notions of authority might need to be revised for the online environment. Guidelines for evaluating the authority of consumer health information, informed by established readers'' advisory practices, are suggested.

Highlights

• Endometriosis patients who blog about the illness may determine authority of information sources through both cognitive and affective methods.

Implications

• Because patients with chronic illnesses might have different authority criteria than medical librarians do, it could be useful to carefully incorporate electronic patient discussion forums, medical blogs written by laypeople, and other nontraditionally authoritative resources into consumer health information selection policies. Standard biomedical resources are certainly important to recommend to consumers, but they do not convey the complete picture of a chronic illness and its related experience.
• Patients with chronic illnesses and caregivers can benefit from sources such as blogs and online discussion lists that provide social and emotional support as well as accounts of “lived experience.”
• An understanding of the patient''s potential epistemological community can make the librarian''s recommendations more appropriate for the individual user.

     

Basic list of veterinary medical serials,third edition: using a decision matrix to update the core list of veterinary journals

Objective:

This paper presents the methods and results of a study designed to produce the third edition of the “Basic List of Veterinary Medical Serials,” which was established by the Veterinary Medical Libraries Section in 1976 and last updated in 1986.

Methods:

A set of 238 titles were evaluated using a decision matrix in order to systematically assign points for both objective and subjective criteria and determine an overall score for each journal. Criteria included: coverage in four major indexes, scholarly impact rank as tracked in two sources, identification as a recommended journal in preparing for specialty board examinations, and a veterinary librarian survey rating.

Results:

Of the 238 titles considered, a minimum scoring threshold determined the 123 (52%) journals that constituted the final list. The 36 subject categories represented on the list include general and specialty disciplines in veterinary medicine. A ranked list of journals and a list by subject category were produced.

Conclusion:

Serials appearing on the third edition of the “Basic List of Veterinary Medical Serials” met expanded objective measures of quality and impact as well as subjective perceptions of value by both librarians and veterinary practitioners.

Highlights

• The 123 journals on the “Basic List of Veterinary Medical Serials” include 117 journals with a decision matrix score of 15 points or higher, with an additional 6 journals included for more complete subject representation.
• Subject categories with the greatest number of journals are internal medicine, food animal medicine, and research.
• Updates for the third edition of the “Basic List” include 59 new titles and 13 new subject categories.

Implications

• The third edition of the “Basic List” provides a useful collection development and assessment tool for veterinary libraries, as well as general libraries with a need to develop a core collection of veterinary resources.
• The decision matrix approach, using standard quantitative and focused qualitative measures, provides a useful methodology for creating core lists in other disciplines.

     

The informationist: building evidence for an emerging health profession

Background:

To encourage evidence-based practice, an Annals of Internal Medicine editorial called for a new professional on clinical teams: an informationist trained in science or medicine as well as information science.

Objectives:

The study explored the effects of informationists on information behaviors of clinical research teams, specifically, frequency of seeking information for clinical or research decisions, range of resources consulted, perceptions about access to information, confidence in adequacy of literature searches, and effects on decision making and practice. It also explored perceptions about training and experience needed for successful informationists.

Methods:

Exploratory focus groups and key interviews were followed by baseline and follow-up surveys conducted with researchers and clinicians receiving the service. Survey data were analyzed with Pearson''s chi-square or Fisher''s exact test.

Results:

Comparing 2006 to 2004 survey responses, the researchers found that study participants reported: seeking answers to questions more frequently, spending more time seeking or using information, believing time was less of an obstacle to finding or using information, using more information resources, and feeling greater satisfaction with their ability to find answers. Participants'' opinions on informationists'' qualifications evolved to include both subject knowledge and information searching expertise.

Conclusion:

Over time, clinical research teams with informationists demonstrated changes in their information behaviors, and they valued an informationist''s subject matter expertise more.

Highlights

• Informationist involvement in traditional team activities—going on rounds and searching and critically evaluating the literature—increased over time.
• As the relationship between a clinical team and informationist developed, activities expanded to include projects such as development of wikis, databases, and websites.
• Clinical teams came to view subject knowledge as key to an informationist''s preparation; however, their expertise as information scientists was valued most highly.
• “Initiative,” approaching research staff in their workplace, was the one personal trait focus group participants agreed on as most desirable for an informationist.
• When first introduced to the concept, researchers cited customization of services to team needs as a major benefit.

Implications

• To assure a successful informationist program, libraries must be prepared to commit time and money.
• Whether informationists or not, librarians should be prepared to support users'' increased need for genetics and molecular biology information.

     

Nuggets: findings shared in multiple clinical case reports

Objective

The researchers assessed prevalence in the clinical case report literature of multiple reports independently reporting the same (or nearly the same) main finding.

Methods

Results from forty-five PubMed queries were examined for incidence and features of main findings (“nuggets”) shared in at least four case reports.

Results

The authors found that nuggets are surprisingly prevalent and large in the case report literature, the largest found so far was reported in seventeen articles. In most cases, the main findings of case reports were evident from examining titles alone.

Conclusions

Our curated examples should serve as gold standards for developing specific automated methods for finding nuggets. Nuggets potentially enable finding-based (instead of topic-based) information retrieval.     

Teaching Web 2.0 technologies using Web 2.0 technologies

Objectives:

The research evaluated participant satisfaction with the content and format of the “Web 2.0 101: Introduction to Second Generation Web Tools” course and measured the impact of the course on participants'' self-evaluated knowledge of Web 2.0 tools.

Methods:

The “Web 2.0 101” online course was based loosely on the Learning 2.0 model. Content was provided through a course blog and covered a wide range of Web 2.0 tools. All Medical Library Association members were invited to participate. Participants were asked to complete a post-course survey. Respondents who completed the entire course or who completed part of the course self-evaluated their knowledge of nine social software tools and concepts prior to and after the course using a Likert scale. Additional qualitative information about course strengths and weaknesses was also gathered.

Results:

Respondents'' self-ratings showed a significant change in perceived knowledge for each tool, using a matched pair Wilcoxon signed rank analysis (P<0.0001 for each tool/concept). Overall satisfaction with the course appeared high. Hands-on exercises were the most frequently identified strength of the course; the length and time-consuming nature of the course were considered weaknesses by some.

Conclusion:

Learning 2.0-style courses, though demanding time and self-motivation from participants, can increase knowledge of Web 2.0 tools.

Highlights

• Course participants'' knowledge of Web 2.0 tools increased significantly.
• Medical Library Association members liked the online course format, particularly the hands-on exercises and self-pacing.
• There was no significant difference in course completion rate or course satisfaction among participants from academic, hospital, or other library settings.
• Few survey respondents pointed specifically to workplace technology blocking as a reason for non-completion, though this underestimates the effect of such blocking on hospital and corporate library staff.

Implications

• MLA members appreciate having online continuing education (CE) courses. New short, online CE courses were developed based on the findings of this survey.
• Hands-on exercises may improve learning and increase motivation.
• Time and self-motivation are necessary for completing online courses.

     

Our words,our story: a textual analysis of articles published in the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association/Journal of the Medical Library Association from 1961 to 2010

Purpose:

This lecture explores changes in the medical library profession over the last fifty years, as revealed by individual word usage in a body of literature.

Methods:

I downloaded articles published in the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association and Journal of the Medical Library Association between 1961 and 2000 to create an electronic corpus and tracked annual frequency of individual word usage. I used frequency sparklines of words, matching one of four archetypal shapes (level, rise, fall, and rise-and-fall) to identify significant words.

Results:

Most significant words fell into the categories of environment, management, technology, and research. Based on word usage changes, the following trends are revealed: Compared to 1961, today''s medical librarians are more concerned with digital information, not physical packages. We prefer information to be evidence-based. We focus more on health than medicine. We are reaching out to new constituents, sometimes leaving our building to do so. Teaching has become important for us. We run our libraries more like businesses, using constantly changing technology. We are publishing more research articles.

Conclusions:

Although these words were chosen by individual authors to tell their particular stories, in the aggregate, our words reveal our story of change in our profession.The Janet Doe Lecture on the history or philosophy of medical librarianship: I will warn you right now that you will get very little philosophy out of me today, for two reasons. First, my predecessor T. Scott Plutchak, AHIP, was a philosophy major, and I knew that a zoology major like myself could not compete with that. Second, “philosophy” in many Janet Doe lectures is actually a strong personal viewpoint of medical librarianship—what it is or what it should be. I do collection development, where things change so much and so rapidly that I have not had time to develop a strong viewpoint like many of my Doe predecessors. Like most of my collection development colleagues, I''m just trying to survive day to day. That tends to create a very pragmatic attitude. If I believe in anything strongly, it is that I believe I''ll have another cookie.Without philosophy, I am left with history. And here I will echo the complaint of many Doe lecturers by stating that I have a severe lack of historical research skills. I became painfully aware of this lack as I read previous Doe Lectures, such as David Kronick''s 1980 lecture 1. Kronick was a true scholar, with a doctorate in librarianship. We honor him to this day with the Medical Library Association''s (MLA''s) David A. Kronick Traveling Fellowship. In his Doe Lecture, Kronick quoted H. Curtis Wright''s “The Oral Antecedents of Greek Librarianship,” Francis Bacon, and the fifteenth-century Abbot Johannes Trimethius. In contrast, later in this speech, I will quote the Talking Heads.While I am totally unqualified for traditional historical research, that still leaves informal, or personal, history. Although I am old enough to be in my anecdotage, I just do not have many interesting stories to tell. And as Thomas Basler, FMLA, told us in his 2008 Doe Lecture, there are no more giants. While I met some of those giants, I did not know them, and I certainly do not have any stories to tell about them. I suppose I could tell stories about some of the taller than average individuals I have met in my career, but that does not sound very exciting.     

Publication rate of abstracts of papers and posters presented at Medical Library Association annual meetings

Objectives:

This study sought to ascertain the publication rate of abstracts presented at the annual meetings of the Medical Library Association (MLA) for the years of 2002 and 2003. The secondary objectives were to examine possible reasons for non-publication and factors influencing publication.

Methods:

A total of 442 abstracts from both meeting years, consisting of presented papers and posters, were examined. The 2 methods used to obtain a publication rate were literature searches and an online questionnaire sent to first authors. The questionnaire also asked abstract authors about reasons for non-publication and other factors that might have influenced their decisions about whether or not to submit the project for publication.

Results:

The overall publication rate from the survey was 26.5%, and the publication rate found via literature searching was 27.6%. The most common reason given for non-publication was time restrictions. Also notable was the large proportion of abstracts written by librarians working at universities and those having 25 or more years in the library profession.

Discussion:

Publication rates for abstracts presented at the Medical Library Association meetings for the years studied rank at the low end in comparison with other medical professional associations. Further research into factors affecting publication may reveal ways to increase this rate.

Highlights

• Publication rates from posters and presentations at the Medical Library Association''s 2002 and 2003 annual meetings were estimated at less than 28.0% using data from an author survey and literature search. In contrast, a Cochrane systematic review of 79 similar biomedical research studies found a mean publication rate of 44.5%.
• Respondents listed time restrictions as their primary reason for not submitting their presentations for publication.

Implications

• Compared to biomedical conferences, relatively little of the information presented at Medical Library Association annual meetings is available as peer-reviewed evidence in the published literature.
• Each profession has different norms for the nature and style of information in presentations at meetings. The further presenters get from basic research, the more difficult it may be for them to conceptualize a presentation as a formal paper. Diverse publication rates between professions are likely to remain.
• Additional study could be aimed at further clarifying the reasons for non-publication and possible means to ameliorate them.

     

Gaps in affiliation indexing in Scopus and PubMed

Objective

The authors sought to determine whether unexpected gaps existed in Scopus''s author affiliation indexing of publications written by the University of Nebraska Medical Center or Nebraska Medicine (UNMC/NM) authors during 2014.

Methods

First, we compared Scopus affiliation identifier search results to PubMed affiliation keyword search results. Then, we searched Scopus using affiliation keywords (UNMC, etc.) and compared the results to PubMed affiliation keyword and Scopus affiliation identifier searches.

Results

We found that Scopus''s records for approximately 7% of UNMC/NM authors'' publications lacked appropriate UNMC/NM author affiliation identifiers, and many journals'' publishers were supplying incomplete author affiliation information to PubMed.

Conclusions

Institutions relying on Scopus to track their impact should determine whether Scopus''s affiliation identifiers will, in fact, identify all articles published by their authors and investigators.     

The lost history of American veterinary medicine: the need for preservation

Objective:

The objective of this study was to survey holdings of ephemeral veterinary literature.

Methods:

WorldCat OCLC catalog, the Library of Congress online catalog, the US National Agricultural Library online catalog, and the Dictionary Catalog of the National Agricultural Library, 1862–1965, were used to determine current library holdings of materials published by veterinary schools that are no longer in existence and veterinary associations that are defunct, veterinary supply catalogs, veterinary house organs, patent medicine publications, and veterinary advertisements. Individual library catalogs were also consulted. In addition, the practice of removing advertisements from bound volumes was examined.

Results:

There are many gaps in the cataloged library holdings of primary source materials relating to the history of the education of veterinarians in the United States.

Conclusions:

A proactive action plan needs to be designed and activated to locate, catalog, and preserve this primary source material of veterinary medicine for posterity.

Highlights

• Veterinary libraries have failed to catalog or retain important primary veterinary source materials.
• Several types of veterinary gray literature, with individual pieces scattered across multiple kinds of libraries, are at high risk for loss from the historical record.

Implications

• Academic, veterinary, medical, and special librarians should be involved in efforts to preserve their institutional, local, and state materials; to identify and locate hidden collections of materials, both in uncataloged collections and in the hands of private collectors; and to mentor new librarians about their role in preserving the history of medicine.
• The results of this survey of primary source materials documenting US veterinary medical education suggest the need for a parallel study of medical education and other health professions education.
• The time is now, not only to digitize important scarce veterinary materials for both preservation and improved access, but also to archive present day institutional output (paper and electronic).

     

Metropolis revisited: the evolving role of librarians in informatics education for the health professions

Objective:

The authors'' goal was to assess changes in the role of librarians in informatics education from 2004 to 2013. This is a follow-up to “Metropolis Redux: The Unique Importance of Library Skills in Informatics,” a 2004 survey of informatics programs.

Methods:

An electronic survey was conducted in January 2013 and sent to librarians via the MEDLIB-L email discussion list, the library section of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, the Medical Informatics Section of the Medical Library Association, the Information Technology Interest Group of the Association of College and Research Libraries/New England Region, and various library directors across the country.

Results:

Librarians from fifty-five institutions responded to the survey. Of these respondents, thirty-four included librarians in nonlibrary aspects of informatics training. Fifteen institutions have librarians participating in leadership positions in their informatics programs. Compared to the earlier survey, the role of librarians has evolved.

Conclusions:

Librarians possess skills that enable them to participate in informatics programs beyond a narrow library focus. Librarians currently perform significant leadership roles in informatics education. There are opportunities for librarian interdisciplinary collaboration in informatics programs.

Implications:

Informatics is much more than the study of technology. The information skills that librarians bring to the table enrich and broaden the study of informatics in addition to adding value to the library profession itself.     

Mapping the literature of health care chaplaincy

Objective:

This study examined citation patterns and indexing coverage from 2008 to 2010 to determine (1) the core literature of health care chaplaincy and (2) the resources providing optimum coverage for the literature.

Methods:

Citations from three source journals (2008–2010 inclusive) were collected and analyzed according to the protocol created for the Mapping the Literature of Allied Health Professions Project. An analysis of indexing coverage by five databases was conducted. A secondary analysis of self-citations by source journals was also conducted.

Results:

The 3 source journals—Chaplaincy Today, the Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy, and the Journal of Pastoral Care and Counseling—ranked as the top 3 journals in Zone 1 and provided the highest number of most frequently cited articles for health care chaplaincy. Additional journals that appeared in this highly productive zone covered the disciplines of medicine, psychology, nursing, and religion, which were also represented in the Zones 2 and 3 journals. None of the databases provided complete coverage for the core journals; however, MEDLINE provided the most comprehensive coverage for journals in Zones 1 and 2, followed by Academic Search Complete, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and ATLA. Self-citations for the source journals ranged from 9% to 16%.

Conclusions:

Health care chaplaincy draws from a diverse body of inter-professional literature. Libraries wishing to provide access to journal literature to support health care chaplaincy at their institutions will be best able to do this by subscribing to databases and journals that cover medical, psychological, nursing, and religion- or spirituality-focused disciplines.

Highlights

• Health care chaplaincy is a broadly inter-professional field that draws from and contributes to medical, nursing, psychological, and religion or spirituality literature.
• Two of the three source journals were sponsored by professional chaplaincy organizations.
• Journals and books were cited with almost equal frequency.

Implications

• For full coverage of the health care chaplaincy literature, librarians should consider searching in databases beyond MEDLINE, for example, CINAHL and Academic Search Complete, to assure comprehensive coverage.
• Health care chaplaincy researchers and educators considering publication will find the study useful for identifying relevant journals from related disciplines.

     

Health sciences libraries building survey, 1999–2009

Objective:

A survey was conducted of health sciences libraries to obtain information about newer buildings, additions, remodeling, and renovations.

Method:

An online survey was developed, and announcements of survey availability posted to three major email discussion lists: Medical Library Association (MLA), Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries (AAHSL), and MEDLIB-L. Previous discussions of library building projects on email discussion lists, a literature review, personal communications, and the author''s consulting experiences identified additional projects.

Results:

Seventy-eight health sciences library building projects at seventy-three institutions are reported. Twenty-two are newer facilities built within the last ten years; two are space expansions; forty-five are renovation projects; and nine are combinations of new and renovated space. Six institutions report multiple or ongoing renovation projects during the last ten years.

Conclusions:

The survey results confirm a continuing migration from print-based to digitally based collections and reveal trends in library space design. Some health sciences libraries report loss of space as they move toward creating space for “community” building. Libraries are becoming more proactive in using or retooling space for concentration, collaboration, contemplation, communication, and socialization. All are moving toward a clearer operational vision of the library as the institution''s information nexus and not merely as a physical location with print collections.

Highlights

• Seventy-eight health sciences library building projects at seventy-three institutions were reported as completed in the last ten years.
• Five health sciences library projects illustrate the diversity of projects reported.
• Eleven trends in health sciences library buildings are identified.
• Numerous challenges are briefly discussed.

Implications

• Changing services and usage patterns demand innovative ways to use library space.
• Libraries are making more proactive efforts to retool library physical space.
• Migration from print to digital collections is continuing at an accelerated pace.
• More library space is now dedicated for “community” building.

     

Copyright information queries in the health sciences: trends and implications from the Ohio State University

Objective:

This paper presents the results of data gathered on copyright questions asked at an academic health sciences library.

Methods:

Collected data include questioner''s status or discipline, the subject of the questions, the types of activities that the questioners were engaged in, the communication mode, and the length of time it took to answer the questions.

Results:

Overall results showed most questions were about permissions. Staff asked the most questions, followed by faculty and students.

Conclusions:

Copyright education is needed at universities, and further analysis of queries will determine the direction of the education.     

Mapping the core journals of the physical therapy literature

Objectives:

The purpose of this study was to identify (1) core journals in the literature of physical therapy, (2) currency of references cited in that literature, and (3) online databases providing the highest coverage rate of core journals.

Method:

Data for each cited reference in each article of four source journals for three years were recorded, including type of literature, year of publication, and journal title. The journal titles were ranked in descending order according to the frequency of citations and divided into three zones using Bradford''s Law of Scattering. Four databases were analyzed for coverage rates of articles published in the Zone 1 and Zone 2 journals in 2007.

Results:

Journal articles were the most frequently cited type of literature, with sixteen journals supplying one-third of the cited journal references. Physical Therapy was the most commonly cited title. There were more cited articles published from 2000 to 2007 than in any previous full decade. Of the databases analyzed, CINAHL provided the highest coverage rate for Zone 1 2007 publications.

Conclusions:

Results were similar to a previous study, except for changes in the order of Zone 1 journals. Results can help physical therapists and librarians determine important journals in this discipline.

Highlights

• More cited references were published in the last eight years studied than in any previous full decade.
• Physical Therapy, Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (APMR), and Spine were the most frequently cited titles. Previous studies found APMR to be the most cited journal.
• CINAHL provided the highest coverage rate for the most commonly cited titles, with MEDLINE and EMBASE providing the best coverage for the next group of titles.

Implications

• Health sciences librarians and clinicians can use these results to identify important journals for developing collections and determining the need for access to back issues of journals.
• Multiple databases are needed for comprehensive coverage of the physical therapy discipline

Implications

• Health sciences librarians and clinicians can use these results to identify important journals for developing collections and determining the need for access to back issues of journals.
• Multiple databases are needed for comprehensive coverage of the physical therapy discipline

     

Hispanics' use of Internet health information: an exploratory study

Purpose: The research examined use of the Internet to seek health information among Hispanics in the United States.Methods: A secondary analysis used the Impact of the Internet and Advertising on Patients and Physicians, 2000–2001, survey data. Pearson''s χ² test, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), analysis of variance (ANOVA), and independent samples t tests were conducted to test for relationships and differences between facets of Hispanic and non-Hispanic white online health information seeking.Results: Findings indicated lower Internet health information seeking among Hispanics (28.9%, n=72) than non-Hispanic whites (35.6%, n=883). On a scale of 1 (strongly agree) to 4 (strongly disagree), Hispanics were likely to agree that Internet health information improves understanding of medical conditions and treatments (M=1.65), gives patients confidence to talk to doctors about health concerns (M=1.67), and helps patients get treatment they would not otherwise receive (M=2.23). Hispanics viewed their skills in assessing Internet health information as good. Overall ratings were also positive for items related to sharing Internet health information with a doctor. Conflicting with these findings, Hispanics (M=3.33) and non-Hispanic whites (M=3.46) reported that physician-patient relationships worsened as a result of bringing online health information to a visit (scale 1=a lot better to 5=a lot worse).Conclusion: This study provides further evidence of differences in Internet health information seeking among Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites. Cultural discordance may be a possible explanation for Hispanics'' view that the Internet negatively impacts physician-patient relationships. Strategies to increase Hispanics'' access to Internet health information will likely help them become empowered and educated consumers, potentially having a favorable impact on health outcomes.

Highlights

• Consistent with prior studies, a lower proportion of Hispanics compared to non-Hispanic whites reported using the Internet to seek health information.
• Overall, Hispanics tended to agree that the Internet is a helpful resource for health information.
• Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites reported that bringing Internet health information to doctors'' visits worsened the physician-patient relationship.
• Consistent with prior literature, the odds of seeking Internet health information were decreased for Hispanics with low (<$25,000) and middle ($25,000– $49,000) household incomes.

Implications

• More studies are needed to provide evidence to develop culturally appropriate interventions to examine differences in Internet use and potential digital disparities among Hispanics.
• Concurrent with increasing Hispanics'' use of Internet health information, efforts to address the Internet''s impact on physician-patient relationship are warranted.

     

Linking research to practice: the rise of evidence-based health sciences librarianship

Purpose:

The lecture explores the origins of evidence-based practice (EBP) in health sciences librarianship beginning with examples from the work of Janet Doe and past Doe lecturers. Additional sources of evidence are used to document the rise of research and EBP as integral components of our professional work.

Methods:

Four sources of evidence are used to examine the rise of EBP: (1) a publication by Doe and research-related content in past Doe lectures, (2) research-related word usage in articles in the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association and Journal of the Medical Library Association between 1961 and 2010, (3) Medical Library Association activities, and (4) EBP as an international movement.

Results:

These sources of evidence confirm the rise of EBP in health sciences librarianship. International initiatives sparked the rise of evidence-based librarianship and continue to characterize the movement. This review shows the emergence of a unique form of EBP that, although inspired by evidence-based medicine (EBM), has developed its own view of evidence and its application in library and information practice.

Implications:

Health sciences librarians have played a key role in initiating, nurturing, and spreading EBP in other branches of our profession. Our close association with EBM set the stage for developing our own EBP. While we relied on EBM as a model for our early efforts, we can observe the continuing evolution of our own unique approach to using, creating, and applying evidence from a variety of sources to improve the quality of health information services.     

Development of a clinical information tool for the electronic medical record: a case study

Question:

What is the process of developing a clinical information tool to be embedded in the electronic health record of a very large and diverse academic medical center?

Setting:

The development took place at the University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences Library System.

Method:

The clinical information tool developed is a search box with subject tabs to provide quick access to designated full-text information resources. Each subject tab offers a federated search of a different pool of resources. Search results are organized “on the fly” into meaningful categories using clustering technology and are directly accessible from the results page.

Results:

After more than a year of discussion and planning, a clinical information tool was embedded in the academic medical center''s electronic health record.

Conclusion:

The library successfully developed a clinical information tool, called Clinical-e, for use at the point of care. Future development will refine the tool and evaluate its impact and effectiveness.