Infection control professionals' information‐seeking preferences

Objectives

The aims of this study were to: 1) establish whether infection control professionals (ICPs) who had access to and utilised medical librarian services for evidence‐based medicine (EBM) research perceived this assistance to be useful and 2) to establish whether ICPs who used electronic or hard copy resources for EBM research perceived that those resources had a significant impact on their work.

Methods

Convenience sampling was used to collect quantitative data via a questionnaire. Study participants were members of South‐west and Western chapters of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. There were 264 questionnaires distributed in this study; 179 participants completed the questionnaire. The response rate for eligible respondents was 59.5% (157).

Results

Results indicated 56.7% (51) of the ICPs with librarian access reported requesting assistance from their work facility librarian. In reference to locating infection control information, 77.9% (95), 87.3% (124) and 93.3% (138) of ICPs found textbooks, journals and the Internet ‘very useful’ or ‘useful’, respectively.

Conclusion

Study results indicated ICPs who used the assistance of medical librarians and/or hard copy or electronic resources for EBM research perceived such sources to be valuable for obtaining infection control information.     

Keeping up‐to‐date with current practice

Acknowledging the need for continuous improvement to keep health libraries at the forefront of patient care, Richard Bridgen considers the alternative ways in which library and knowledge services can be provided, from regional hubs to embedded services. Richard echo's the words of the CILIP Chief Executive Officer that services are likely to be judged on provision rather than breadth of collection and emphasises the need for a properly educated workforce to enable staff to keep up with changes in their professional domains.     

Opportunities for faculty‐librarian collaboration in an expanded dentistry curriculum

With the increased emphasis on evidence based practice, developing information literacy skills earlier in health care education programmes is widely accepted. However finding opportunities for relevant teaching can present challenges, often leading to a lack of integration. In this paper, guest writers Sean Stone and colleagues from Indiana University discuss their involvement with an expanded dental hygiene curriculum in the University School of Dentistry. This expansion has provided the opportunity to plan integration of information and oral health literacy instruction and evidence based practice across the new curriculum, and provide transferable skills for any major. In particular, the paper addresses the developmental work the health librarian team engaged in from course design, delivery and assessment to improve student preparedness for evidence based practice. H.S.     

The Covid‐19 ‘infodemic’: a new front for information professionals

The virus, commonly known as COVID‐19 which emerged in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, has spread in 213 countries, areas or territories around the globe, with nearly 144 683 deaths worldwide on 18 April 2020. In the wake of this pandemic, we have witnessed a massive infodemic with the public being bombarded with vast quantities of information, much of which is not scientifically correct. Fighting fake news is now the new front in the COVID‐19 battle. This regular feature comments on the role of health sciences librarians and information professionals in combating the COVID‐19 infodemic. To support their work, it draws attention to the myth busters, fact‐checkers and credible sources relating to COVID‐19. It also documents the guides that libraries have put together to help the general public, students and faculty recognise fake news.     

Context and learning: the value and limits of library‐based information literacy teaching

This month's regular feature will discuss some of the implications for library‐based information literacy teaching that have emerged from a HEA‐funded research project conducted at De Montfort University. It is argued that information literacy teaching as it has evolved in a university setting, while having a greater degree of relevance and value than ever before, nevertheless has inherent limits when it comes to its transferability beyond the academy and into a workplace setting. HS     

‘Letting them loose!’ A different approach to a biochemistry post‐exam training session

This feature looks at changing the format of a well‐established information skills session for first‐year biochemistry students at UCL, to improve its design, delivery and the overall learning experience for the students. After reviewing current literature, active learning methods were explored and an idea of a research‐based quiz based on famous scientists was devised. After a brief introduction to the library resources available, the students were ‘let loose’ to research their particular scientist and answer a series of questions. Feedback was gained and evaluated and concluded that the session was well received by students. The feature also raises the discussion of generic verses subject‐based information skills training. H.S.