Health Literacy's Influence on Consumer Libraries

Health literacy has been redefined in recent years to move beyond an individual’s own communication skills to include the skills of persons working within health care organizations, including librarians. Provision of consumer health services and resources, while a long-standing practice in hospital libraries, has also been redefined. As definitions of health literacy have evolved, so too have hospital librarian services as they embrace their role within health literacy. Many hospital medical and consumer health librarians have developed programs, services, and collaborations to further health literacy awareness, education, and initiatives for consumers, health care professionals, and their parent organizations.     

Health information for patients: The hospital library's role

Libraries today, including most hospital-based patients' libraries, are involved only peripherally in providing patient health science information. Hospital libraries should collaborate with health professionals in getting health information to patients--along with the library's more traditional roles of providing recreational reading for patients and serving the informational needs of the physician and medical staff. The library should act as the center for educational materials and programs within the hospital. Many health agencies, health educators, physicians, and librarians have been discussing the need for patient health education, but there are few effectively organized or established education centers. This paper discusses an overview of patient health education and intellectural freedom, proposes a new role for the existing hospital library in patient health education, and suggests guidelines for establishing a patient education center.     

Patient education and health outcomes: implications for library service

Many librarians take an active role in patient education, for practical and ethical reasons; however, it is important to examine the effect of such activities on health outcomes. Although the rationale for patient education is that increased knowledge leads to a change in attitude that in turn affects behavior, studies have shown that this is not always true. Furthermore, other studies have shown that patient education programs by themselves have no lasting influence on patient compliance with therapy that has been linked to improved health. Librarians should examine a variety of reasons for their involvement in patient education activities. For librarians who accept improved patient compliance as a goal, specific recommendations based on literature review are made to help implement effective strategies.     

Building capacity among health care librarians to teach evidence-based practice—an evaluation

Objective:An innovative funding scheme for health care librarians to attend an intensive short course in teaching evidence-based practice was established in the West of England in 2016. This evaluation aims to understand the value of the scheme and the impact of the training opportunity for the librarians, establish an evidence base for continuing with the funding scheme, and inform the development of plans to build additional capacity among health care librarians to provide critical appraisal training.Methods:Seven librarians working in health care system settings were funded by the scheme between 2016 and 2018. Post-course feedback forms gathered initial views on course content and delivery, which informed the development of questions for the qualitative phase of the evaluation. All seven librarians participated in group discussions and individual interviews.Results:The course boosted confidence, provided valuable new skills, and positively impacted careers of the librarians through access to new opportunities. It inspired the development of new approaches to critical appraisal training. An important need was identified among the librarians for more education in teaching. Librarians funded by the scheme have successfully cascaded the training to their colleagues.Conclusion:This evaluation supports the continuation of the funding scheme to further build capacity among health care librarians to teach evidence-based practice. It suggests additional investment in this type of specialist training, as well as in education in teaching skills, would be beneficial for health care librarians. Evidence from this evaluation is informing new plans to support these professionals with the vital service they provide, which contributes to the evidence-based culture of their organizations and to patient outcomes.     

Vital pathways for hospital librarians: present and future roles

Objectives:

The research objectives were to (1) describe the current and future roles of hospital librarians and the challenges they face and (2) find evidence supporting the hypothesis that librarians are essential to hospitals in achieving the organizations'' mission-critical goals.

Method:

The authors used results from a previous research study that identified the five organizational mission-critical goals important to hospital administrators and then searched the literature and solicited examples from hospital librarians to describe the librarian''s role in helping hospitals achieve these goals.

Results:

The literature supports the hypothesis that hospital librarians play important roles in the success of the hospital. Librarians support quality clinical care, efficient and effective hospital operations, continuing education for staff, research and innovation, and patient, family, and community health information needs.

Conclusion:

Hospital librarians fulfill many mission-critical roles in today''s hospital, providing the right information at the right time in a variety of ways to enhance hospital and medical staff effectiveness, optimize patient care, improve patient outcomes, and increase patient and family satisfaction with the hospital and its services. Because hospital librarians and their services provide an excellent return on investment for the hospital and help the hospital keep its competitive edge, hospital staff should have access to the services of a professional librarian.

Highlights

• A review of the literature supports the hypothesis that services of the professional librarian result in:
  • enhanced staff effectiveness,
  • optimized patient care,
  • improved patient outcomes, and
  • increased patient and family satisfaction with the hospital and its services.

Implications

• Because hospital librarians and their services provide an excellent return on investment for the hospital and help the hospital keep its competitive edge, hospital staff should have access to the services of a professional librarian.

     

Developing a Cancer-Focused Library Survey — Assessing the Current Environment and Planning for the Future

The primary goal of this project is to understand how each National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center library, and all libraries that support cancer research, function within their institutions. Through an in-depth survey focused on three major areas (staff, content and tools procurement, and user services), the research team hopes to determine how a cancer-centric library can be successful in supporting quality patient care, research excellence, and education. Additionally, the survey will examine the necessary minimum staffing levels for librarians and information professionals based on organizational size and degree of research focus. The survey will seek out the new skills librarians will need to deliver optimal services. The survey will also explore how content libraries purchase reflects and maps to constituents’ current medical and research activities. Libraries within a research intense environment have a responsibility to align with researchers and health care professionals to provide resources and services that support their workflows. Cancer libraries need to be attuned to their institutions’ missions, whether that includes excellent patient care, research endeavors, or cutting-edge educational programs. The information gathered from the survey will provide data for this research team to define the vision and standards of excellence for a cancer specialized research library.     

A Review of: “Going Beyond Google: The Invisible Web in Learning and Teaching. Devine,Jane and Egger-Sider,Francine.”

As technology rapidly changes, libraries remain go-to points for education and technology skill development. In academic health sciences libraries, trends suggest librarians provide more training on technology topics than ever before. While education and training have always been roles for librarians, providing technology training on new mobile devices and emerging systems requires class creation and training capabilities that are new to many librarians. To appeal to their users, many health sciences librarians are interested in developing technology-based classes. This column explores the question: what skills are necessary for developing and teaching technology in an academic health sciences library setting?     

The education and training needs of health librarians - the generalist versus specialist dilemma

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The aims of the study were to examine whether and how librarians with a generalist background can transfer to roles demanding more expert knowledge in the health sector. The objectives were (i) to compare the education and training needs of health librarians with science degrees with the education and training needs of health librarians with arts and humanities degrees; (ii) to compare the education and training needs of librarians working in the National Health Service (NHS) sector with the education and training needs of librarians working for the health sector but within higher education. METHODS: Face-to-face interviews with 16 librarians, a convenience sample of librarians working in the Thames Valley NHS region. RESULTS: The main findings confirmed that structured continuing professional development (CPD) is required to meet the rapidly changing needs in the health sector. The emphasis ought to be on teaching skills, outreach work, marketing and promotion, research skills and methods, subject knowledge and terminology, and management skills. Library school curricula do not appear to meet the demands of medical library posts. A first degree in scientific subjects is advantageous in the early stages of a career but diminishes with continuing training and experience. There is no evidence of a significant difference in training needs and provision between the librarians in NHS posts as opposed to those in higher education (HE) posts. CONCLUSIONS: The conclusions suggest that library schools need to update their programmes to include teaching skills, advanced search skills, project management skills, research methods, with more practical exercises. Particular attention should be given to librarians with a first degree in non-scientific subjects in terms of time allocated for CPD, quality of training and access to reliable mentorship.     

The Librarian’s Contribution to Continuing Medical Education

At many hospitals, including Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ) University Hospital Rahway, librarians facilitate continuing medical education (CME) programs, sometimes working in that capacity as much as in their traditional librarian functions such as reference, research, cataloging, and bibliographic instruction. This column traces the relationship between the two aspects of the RWJ Rahway’s CME coordinator and health sciences librarian’s job to demonstrate that, because of their duties and skills, medical librarians can meaningfully contribute to hospitals’ CME programs. The worlds of librarianship and CME are further connected by the same goal: the dissemination of information.     

Imperatives for continuing research education: results of a Medical Library Association survey.

This paper reports the results of a survey assessing the interest of Medical Library Association (MLA) members in acquiring or improving research skills through continuing education (CE). It describes respondents' educational preparation for research and selected research activities, reviews MLA's experiences with offering CE courses on research topics, and discusses MLA's role in providing education to prepare members for research. The paper includes recommendations for improving research skills through CE and other professional activities. Topics of greatest interest to MLA members were survey development, problem identification, evaluation and cost studies, survey methodology, and methods of data collection. Many respondents preferred local courses. Academic health sciences librarians, as a group, were found to be more productive publishers than hospital librarians. Many respondents reported the availability of free or subsidized research-support services, but more than half did not. More than 90% of respondents indicated that MLA should actively encourage, require, or offer research education. A comprehensive plan for obtaining research skills through CE, along with individual self-assessment and counseling, is recommended.     

Medicine and health care: implications for health sciences library practice

The American health care system is experiencing a period of unprecedented change. This paper identifies and discusses the major changes in patient care, research, control of the health care system, and medical education, and their implications for health sciences librarians. These changes have resulted in new demands for effective information delivery and a broader health sciences library clientele. There are both challenges and opportunities for health sciences librarians as they respond to information pressures of the current health care environment and anticipate future needs.     

The health sciences librarian in medical education: a vital pathways project task force

Objectives:

The Medical Education Task Force of the Task Force on Vital Pathways for Hospital Librarians reviewed current and future roles of health sciences librarians in medical education at the graduate and undergraduate levels and worked with national organizations to integrate library services, education, and staff into the requirements for training medical students and residents.

Methods:

Standards for medical education accreditation programs were studied, and a literature search was conducted on the topic of the role of the health sciences librarian in medical education.

Results:

Expectations for library and information services in current standards were documented, and a draft standard prepared. A comprehensive bibliography on the role of the health sciences librarian in medical education was completed, and an analysis of the services provided by health sciences librarians was created.

Conclusion:

An essential role and responsibility of the health sciences librarian will be to provide the health care professional with the skills needed to access, manage, and use library and information resources effectively. Validation and recognition of the health sciences librarian''s contributions to medical education by accrediting agencies will be critical. The opportunity lies in health sciences librarians embracing the diverse roles that can be served in this vital activity, regardless of accrediting agency mandates.In response to reported closings of and staff reductions at hospital libraries, the Medical Library Association (MLA) and the Hospital Libraries Section of MLA agreed to study the state of hospital libraries and librarians under the auspices of the Task Force on Vital Pathways for Hospital Librarians. The task force''s Health Sciences Librarian in Medical Education Task Force (METF)^* was charged with reviewing the accreditation standards regarding libraries for residency programs and with working with national organizations to integrate library services, education, and staff into the requirements for training medical students and residents.     

Pivoting: leveraging opportunities in a turbulent health care environment

Purpose:

The purpose of this lecture is to challenge librarians in clinical settings to leverage the opportunities presented by the current health care environment and to develop collaborative relationships with health care practitioners to provide relevant services.

Discussion:

Health care organizations are under financial and regulatory pressures, and many hospital librarians have been downsized or have had their positions eliminated. The lecture briefly reviews hospital librarians'' roles in the past but focuses primarily on our current challenges. This environment requires librarians to be opportunity focused and pivot to a new vision that directs their actions. Many librarians are already doing this, and colleagues are encouraging us to embrace these opportunities. Evidence from publications, websites, discussion lists, personal communications, and the author''s experience is explored.

Conclusion:

Developing interdisciplinary and collaborative relationships in our institutions and providing relevant services will mark our progress as vital, contributing members of our health care organizations.     

Evaluating clinical librarian services: a systematic review

Background: Previous systematic reviews have indicated limited evidence and poor quality evaluations of clinical librarian (CL) services. Rigorous evaluations should demonstrate the value of CL services, but guidance is needed before this can be achieved. Objectives: To undertake a systematic review which examines models of CL services, quality, methods and perspectives of clinical librarian service evaluations. Methods: Systematic review methodology and synthesis of evidence, undertaken collaboratively by a group of 8 librarians to develop research and critical appraisal skills. Results: There are four clear models of clinical library service provision. Clinical librarians are effective in saving health professionals time, providing relevant, useful information and high quality services. Clinical librarians have a positive effect on clinical decision making by contributing to better informed decisions, diagnosis and choice of drug or therapy. The quality of CL studies is improving, but more work is needed on reducing bias and providing evidence of specific impacts on patient care. The Critical Incident Technique as part of a mixed method approach appears to offer a useful approach to demonstrating impact. Conclusions: This systematic review provides practical guidance regarding the evaluation of CL services. It also provides updated evidence regarding the effectiveness and impact of CL services. The approach used was successful in developing research and critical appraisal skills in a group of librarians.     

The Health Information Literacy Research Project

Objectives:

This research studied hospital administrators'' and hospital-based health care providers'' (collectively, the target group) perceived value of consumer health information resources and of librarians'' roles in promoting health information literacy in their institutions.

Methods:

A web-based needs survey was developed and administered to hospital administrators and health care providers. Multiple health information literacy curricula were developed. One was pilot-tested by nine hospital libraries in the United States and Canada. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to evaluate the curriculum and its impact on the target group.

Results:

A majority of survey respondents believed that providing consumer health information resources was critically important to fulfilling their institutions'' missions and that their hospitals could improve health information literacy by increasing awareness of its impact on patient care and by training staff to become more knowledgeable about health literacy barriers. The study showed that a librarian-taught health information literacy curriculum did raise awareness about the issue among the target group and increased both the use of National Library of Medicine consumer health resources and referrals to librarians for health information literacy support.

Conclusions:

It is hoped that many hospital administrators and health care providers will take the health information literacy curricula and recognize that librarians can educate about the topic and that providers will use related consumer health services and resources.

Highlights

• Health care providers responded positively to a health information literacy curriculum offered by librarians and to related resources and services, namely MedlinePlus and the information referral system known as Information Rx.
• Participation in a curriculum increased health care providers'' knowledge of health information literacy, awareness of available consumer health information, and referral of patients to the library for additional assistance.
• Librarian involvement in health information literacy increased the profession''s visibility and perceived value.

Implications

• Consumer health information services and resources offered by librarians can improve the health information literacy skills of health care providers and their patients.
• Training by librarians can increase knowledge of the importance of health information literacy and usage of MedlinePlus and Information Rxs.
• Hospital-based administrators and health care providers can be champions in support of health information literacy and consumer health information services offered by libraries.

     

An online nursing leadership literature centre at the University of Manitoba Health Sciences Libraries

Background: Decades of hospital restructuring in Canada resulted in significant reductions of nursing leadership positions and altered a nursing infrastructure important for guiding patient care. The importance of acquiring nursing leadership skills to address the negative effects of restructuring is advocated by Canadian nursing bodies. Objectives: To describe a service innovation for a nursing community. The librarians of the University of Manitoba Health Sciences Libraries (UMHSL) created an online nursing leadership literature centre to support a leadership programme launched by the Nursing Leadership Council (NLC) of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority. The article will contribute to the body of literature about health library services for nurses. Methods: The creation of the service is described. A literature search was undertaken to determine what services have been implemented by librarians for nursing leadership programmes, as well as to review the literature with regard to contributions made by librarians for nursing communities. Results: The literature service, comprised of 19 webliographies based on the NLC's leadership topics, is available on the UMHSL website. A webliography, by definition, is a list of electronic works relating to a particular topic. The NLC created its own website that provides nurses with a means to identify, enhance and evaluate leadership competencies, and which is linked to the UMHSL website. Conclusion: The contributions of the UMHSL librarians to this project support the goals of instilling leadership skills in nurses, encouraging evidence‐based nursing practice, and transforming a practice environment to meet the ultimate goal of effective patient care.     

Case studies from morning report: librarians' role in helping residents find evidence-based clinical information

In primary care specialties, Morning Report is a traditional vehicle for expanding medical residents' training in diagnosis and treatment. At one academic medical center, residents and faculty in the Department of Family and Community Medicine use case-based teaching, centered around planning and reviewing patient management, to review intriguing cases from patient encounters in the department's hospital service. Seeking to improve the level of evidence-based information exchanged at Morning Report, department leaders invited reference librarians from the health sciences library to attend weekly Morning Report. The librarians saw this as an opportunity not only to improve residents' information-seeking skills, but also to improve librarians' teaching skills and understanding of the needs of users in clinical settings. This paper describes the evolution of librarians' involvement in Morning Report, examples of the kinds of contributions librarians have made in this setting, and changes made in Morning Report sessions to facilitate this activity.     

Focused Library Instruction for Occupational Therapy,Physical Therapy,and Respiratory Care Students and Faculty: Library Instruction in Allied Health

The integration of librarians into allied health programs presents many exciting opportunities for collaboration. This column will describe how a library instruction program is integrated into the occupational therapy, respiratory care, and physical therapy curricula at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. The allied health faculty have welcomed and recognized the librarians’ expertise in teaching evidence-based practice and library research skills.     

One small community hospital library's successful outsourcing of document delivery: an ongoing study

When DOCLINE was implemented in 1985, community hospital librarians were beginning to feel the economic pressures of the changing health care arena. However, staff and resources were often sufficient or plentiful. Now, fifteen years after the creation of DOCLINE, many existing small hospitals either no longer have a librarian, an assistant is managing the library, the librarian is managing one or more libraries of an integrated system, or the number of librarians has been reduced. A system that is heavily staff dependent is no longer feasible. In addition, as the role of the community hospital librarian evolves into one of instructor and patient education liaison, a system that does not permit the librarian to expand such services will be detrimental to the entire library program. Following is a discussion of one small community hospital's decision to outsource document delivery services as a result of staffing changes and the expansion of additional library programs.