Increasingly the health information professional's role in supporting evidence-based practice requires familiarity with critical appraisal skills, resources and techniques.
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Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.
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Impact of a Graduate Entry Programme on a medical school library service.
The aim of this study was to compare the use of library facilities by first year undergraduate medical students and Graduate Entry Programme students (GEP). More specifically it tried to determine which library services (if any) were more frequently used by GEP so that this could be taken into account in future Information Services planning. A questionnaire on the use of Library and Information Services was posted to all first year GEP students and undergraduates on the 5-year course. In addition, user statistics of library entry and borrowing were collated from gate readings and the library Unicorn management system. Overall, GEP students were found to make a greater daily/weekly use of library facilities than undergraduates on the 5-year course. The facilities most used by both sets of students were essential texts, e-mail, PCs and study facilities. Computer Aided Learning packages, journals and video facilities were least used. However, on a daily/weekly basis GEP students made 74% more use of journals (P < 0.01), 59% more use of e-journals (P < 0.05), 36% more use photocopiers (P < 0.05), 42% more use of printers (P < 0.05), 56% more use of the library catalogue (P < 0.05) and 50% more use of databases (P < 0.05). This difference in use should be taken into account by LIS providers as there is expected to be an increase in fast-track graduate courses offered by medical schools throughout the UK.
Curriculum↗
Analysis of genes induced in peripheral nerve after axotomy using cDNA microarrays.
One of the most striking features of neurons in the mature peripheral nervous system is their ability to survive and to regenerate their axons following axonal injury. To perform a comprehensive survey of the molecular mechanisms that underlie peripheral nerve regeneration, we analyzed a cDNA library derived from the distal stumps of post-injured sciatic nerve which was enriched in non-myelinating Schwann cells using cDNA microarrays. The number of up- and down-regulated genes in the transected sciatic nerve was 370 and 157, respectively, of the 9596 spotted genes. In the up-regulated group, the number of known genes was 216 and the number of expressed sequence tag (EST) sequences was 154. In the down-regulated group, the number of known genes was 103 and that of EST sequences was 54. We obtained several genes that were previously reported to be involved in regeneration of the injured neurons, such as cathepsin D, ninjurin 1, tenascin C, and co-receptor for glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor family of trophic factors. In addition to unknown genes, there seemed to be a lot of annotated genes whose role in nerve regeneration remains unknown.
Animals↗
Characterization of a highly polymorphic region 5' to JH in the human immunoglobulin heavy chain.
A cloned DNA segment 1.25 kilobases (kb) upstream from the joining segments of the human heavy chain immunoglobulin gene revealed extensive polymorphic variation at this locus, and the polymorphic pattern was stably transmitted to the next generation. Genomic restriction analysis showed that the polymorphism was caused by insertions/deletions within an MspI/BamHI fragment. Sequencing of one allele, 848 base pairs (bp) long, revealed eleven 50-base-pair tandem repeats. A second allele, 648 bp long, was cloned from a human genomic cosmid library, sequenced, and found to contain four fewer repeats than the first allele. A survey of 186 chromosomes from unrelated individuals of primarily northern European descent revealed at least six alleles.
Alleles↗
"Bridging the information gap" for Virginia public health nurses.
This project was designed to increase the public health nurse's knowledge and use of health science information resources available from the National Library of Medicine's databases through the use of the Grateful Med software program. In 1994, the Tompkins-McCaw Library located on the Medical College of Virginia Campus (MCV) of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) was awarded a Nursing Information Access Grant from the Southeastern/Atlantic Region of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM). This project was a collaboration of the Tompkins McCaw Library, the VCU School of Nursing, and The Virginia Department of Health. Sixty public health nurses received Grateful Med training. Session evaluations were conducted and indicate that although public health nurses received training and had access to health science information resources through Grateful Med, subsequent use of the resources was very limited. Similar to reports on information-seeking behaviors of physicians, public health nurses seek information from colleagues, personal collections, and other resources locally available. Reasons for the project's limited success in changing the health science information seeking and utilization practices of public health nurses are discussed, and potential solutions are proposed.
Grateful Med↗
The business of negotiating for hospital librarians.
Although many hospital librarians may find it difficult, negotiating with vendors has become a basic skill of library acquisitions. This article reports the results of a non-scientific questionnaire administered to hospital librarians and vendors attending a chapter meeting of the Medical Library Association in 2003. The answers revealed that vendors regard libraries as businesses, and while admitting that the role is often uncomfortable for them, librarians acknowledged that negotiating skills have become an important aspect of their jobs. Questions to help guide librarians through the negotiation process are provided in the Appendix.
Attitude↗
[A 15th century manuscript concerning hemorroid and its treatment].
This study is about a 15th century Turkish text, a general survey of hemorroid. A copy of the text is available in the Diyarbakir Public Library. The 48 page treatise was composed upon the request of a statesman of the time. Hemorroid is described in terms of diagnosis, classification and treatment. This study contains important information on the methods of the treatment of hemorroids. A glossary is inserted at the end of the study in order to be used for deciphering the text, which is a rare example of old Turkish medical literature.
Hemorrhoids↗
Using volunteers in Ontario hospital libraries: views of library managers.
BACKGROUND: Volunteers have been a resource for all types of libraries for many years. Little research has been done to describe the attitudes librarians have toward library volunteers. More specifically, the attitudes of hospital librarians toward volunteers have never been studied. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to explore and describe the extent of volunteer use and to determine library managers' attitudes toward volunteers. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: An anonymous, self-report 38-item questionnaire was mailed to the target population of 89 hospital library managers in Ontario. Seventy-nine useable questionnaires were analyzed from an adjusted sample of 86 eligible respondents, resulting in a response rate of 92%. SPSS 11.5 was used to analyze the data. FINDINGS: The data revealed the attitudes of managers using volunteers did not differ significantly from the attitudes of managers not using volunteers. The findings showed that a majority of managers did not believe their libraries were adequately staffed with paid employees. Sufficient evidence was found of an association between a manager's belief in the adequacy of staffing in the library and the use of volunteers in the library (chi2(1, N=76)=4.11, P=0.043). Specifically, volunteers were more likely to be used by managers who did not believe their libraries were adequately staffed. The presence of a union in the library and the use of volunteers were also associated (chi2(1, N=77)=4.77, P=0.029). When unions were present in the library, volunteers were less likely to be used. IMPLICATIONS: This research has implications for hospital library managers in the management of volunteers. Volunteers should not be viewed as a quick fix or as a long-term solution for a library's understaffing problem.
Administrative Personnel↗
Scope and geographical distribution of African medical journals active in 2005.
OBJECTIVES: To identify all African medical journals actively publishing in 2005, and to create a geodatabase of these to evaluate and monitor future journal activity. DESIGN: A search was done for relevant African medical journals on electronic databases, library catalogues and internet sites, and a list was compiled of active journals. A survey was conducted via questionnaire of editors of all listed African medical journals defined as having an editorial base on the continent. RESULTS: One hundred and fifty-eight African medical journals were identified, published in 33 countries. One hundred and fifty-three editors were surveyed via email, post and/or fax. There was a 39% response rate from editors based in 17 countries. Fifty-one journals were published in English, 7 in French and 1 in Portuguese. Most journals were owned by an association or a society and were funded from a combination of sources. Journals covered general medical and specialist medical interest equally. Most (41 of 59 journals) had a circulation below 1 000, and most (52/59) published 4 or fewer issues a year. Almost all the journals included original research, and articles were peer reviewed. Few were indexed on Medline (N = 18) and EMBASE (N = 10). Plotting journal location using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software provided a snapshot view of current journal activity. CONCLUSIONS: This study is likely to represent the most comprehensive list of current African medical journals. It confirms growth in African health care research and journal activity on the continent. Limited inclusion in international databases and accessibility to African researchers remain challenges in achieving publication of high-quality African research in high-quality African journals.
Abstracting and Indexing↗
The impact of the Northlands Regional Medical Program Library Services.
The most essential components of the former Northlands Regional Medical Program Library Services are reviewed. Their impact is assessed through interpretation of responses to a questionnaire sent to rural institutions that had borrowed one of the NRMP demonstration core libraries. Although the NRMP had thoroughly promoted the need for these institutions to provide information services beyond their own collection, many of them were not ready to support an alternative means of educating library personnel, and had not made use of the extension services provided through either the University of Minnesota Biomedical Library or the Mayo Medical Library. A gradual change was anticipated, however, and some general recommendations are made as an outcome of this study regarding the direction of further efforts towards medical library development in the non-metropolitan areas of Minnesota.
Education, Medical, Continuing↗
Special programs in medical library education, 1957-1971: part IV. Career characteristics of two groups of medical librarians.
This final report compares career characteristics of former trainees employed in medical libraries in 1971 with those of another group of professional medical librarians who did not enter medical librarianship from special training programs. Career characteristics include career advancement (position level, number of people supervised, salary level), professional utilization (tasks performed), and professional activity (association memberships and offices, number of journals read, continuing education activity). The comparison of characteristics for the two groups showed many similarities. A major difference appeared in the career advancement comparison. For the former trainees, economic advancement seems less dependent on upward movement in line positions. This suggests the possibility of two career tracks available to them.
Adult↗
[Scientific information potential as a factor in improving the quality of medical care for the population].
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Diffusion of Innovation↗
The impact of consumer health information provided by libraries: the Delaware experience.
In the past two decades, consumer health libraries have proliferated in response to the changing health care environment and consumer demand. While this growth of consumer health resources and services has been extensively described in the literature, there is little documentation about the impact and value of providing consumer health information. This paper explores the issues of impact and value as examined in a retrospective study of consumers who received health information from the Delaware Academy of Medicine's Consumer Health Library during 1995. In this study, 270 adults were mailed a questionnaire that focused on whether the information influenced decisions, actions, anxiety levels, and patient-provider communication. The questionnaire also addressed the value of such library service in terms of likelihood of repeat use, recommendation to others, and willingness to pay. The results, based on a return rate of 86.7%, identified effects of library-supplied consumer health information that extend beyond the anticipated acquisition of knowledge to specific actions and effects on anxiety. The value of consumer health library information service was shown by the extremely high percentage of probable repeat use and recommendation to others, the willingness of 83.8% of the respondents to pay for such service, and the copious comments volunteered by the respondents.
Adult↗
Use of Web-based library resources by medical students in community and ambulatory settings.
PURPOSE: The purpose was to evaluate the use of Web-based library resources by third-year medical students. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS/RESOURCES: Third-year medical students (147) in a twelve-week multidisciplinary primary care rotation in community and ambulatory settings. METHODOLOGY: Individual user surveys and log file analysis of Website were used. RESULTS/OUTCOMES: Twenty resource topics were compiled into a Website to provide students with access to electronic library resources from any community-based clerkship location. These resource topics, covering subjects such as hypertension and back pain, linked to curriculum training problems, full-text journal articles, MEDLINE searches, electronic book chapters, and relevant Websites. More than half of the students (69%) accessed the Website on a daily or weekly basis. Over 80% thought the Website was a valuable addition to their clerkship. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: Web-based information resources can provide curriculum support to students for whom access to the library is difficult and time consuming.
Attitude to Computers↗
Information needs of specialist healthcare professionals: a preliminary study based on the West of Scotland Colorectal Cancer Managed Clinical Network.
OBJECTIVES: Funded by Research in the Workplace Award (RIWA) 2001, the study investigated the information needs and use of NHS library services by members of the West of Scotland Colorectal Cancer Managed Clinical Network (MCN), a single subject, cross boundary, multi-professional organization. METHOD: A postal questionnaire sent out in October 2002 was returned by 100 members and follow-up interviews were held in March 2003 with 11 of the respondents. The questions related to access to resources, library services such as literature searches, current awareness and training. They also explored the use of electronic resources and the Internet. RESULTS: Respondents were mainly hospital doctors and a few nurses from across five health boards. Most had access to a library, although not all made use of it, possibly an indication of the need for improved communications between librarians and health-care staff. Generally, research and professional development were reported as reasons for needing cancer information, but on further investigation the motivation to conduct literature searches was more related to patient care. Examples included treatment of unusual cases, locating information for patients and identifying guidelines. There are indications of unmet needs for local contact information and evaluated patient information. CONCLUSION: Development of a cancer portal within the NHS Scotland e-Library available from May 2004 based on the Managed Knowledge Network (MKN) concept is attempting to address many of the issues raised in the survey, including inequities of access to services and signposting to a variety of types of information.
Colorectal Neoplasms↗
A serine/threonine kinase which causes apoptosis-like cell death interacts with a calcineurin B-like protein capable of binding Na(+)/H(+) exchanger.
We surveyed proteins capable of binding to the cytoplasmic domain of Na(+)/H(+) exchanger (NHE)1 in a rat brain cDNA library with the yeast two-hybrid system. One clone obtained coded for a protein reported previously as a human calcineurin homologous protein (CHP). Since CHP is homologous to the regulatory subunit B of calcineurin, we expected a possible interacting partner of CHP like the catalytic subunit of calcineurin (calcineurin A), and surveyed this putative partner again with the yeast two-hybrid system. A clone thus obtained coded for a kinase, which is basically the same as that reported for human DRAK2. Overexpression of the rat homologue of DRAK2 caused apoptosis-like cell death of NIH3T3 cells, which was dependent on the kinase activity, confirming the previous result for DRAK2. The purified CHP and rat DRAK2 proteins synthesized in Escherichia coli could bind in vitro. CHP and rat DRAK2 expressed in COS-7 cells were found to be localized in the Golgi apparatus and nucleus, respectively. Some of them was also found in the membrane peripheral region. When they were co-expressed in the same cells, most of CHP moved to the nucleus where rat DRAK2 is located, suggesting in vivo interaction of these proteins. However, minor but significant fractions of both proteins were also found in the membrane peripheral region. Rat DRAK2 is expressed highly in thymus, spleen, and testis, where the apoptosis plays an important role in physiology.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Evidence databases, the Internet, and general practitioners: the New Zealand story.
AIM: To determine self-reported access to and use of the Internet and the Cochrane Library by general practitioners (GPs) in New Zealand. METHODS: A national cross sectional postal and fax survey of randomly selected GPs. RESULTS: A total of 381 of 459 eligible GPs returned completed questionnaires (83%). The mean age of this sample was 45.7 years (SD 8.6) and average years in general practice was 15.7 years (SD 8.8 years). 74% (277) were male and 77% (289) in full-time practice. Internet access was present in 40% (95% CI 36-46%) of practices and 76% (72-81%) of GP's homes. The majority, 56% (51-61%), of GPs had used the Internet with regard to a patient. Younger GPs (<35 years old OR = 2.69, 95% CI 1.10-6.60) and male GPs (OR 1.72, 95% CI 1.02-2.90) were significantly more likely to report use of the Internet with respect to patients. 42% (95% CI 37-47%) of GPs were aware of the Cochrane Library but only 15% (11-19%) had used it. Those in group practice were more likely to be aware of the Cochrane database (adjusted OR 1.85, CI 1.09-3.12). CONCLUSIONS: Internet use is prevalent among GPs. Solo practitioners, older GPs and female GPs are least likely to avail themselves of this resource. Although half of GPs knew about Cochrane, a minority used it. Access and use of evidence databases can be improved in New Zealand. Strategies to assist those least likely already to use Cochrane may help our collective efforts towards evidence based practice.
Adult↗
Interlibrary loan in primary access libraries: challenging the traditional view.
INTRODUCTION: Primary access libraries serve as the foundation of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) interlibrary loan (ILL) hierarchy, yet few published reports directly address the important role these libraries play in the ILL system. This may reflect the traditional view that small, primary access libraries are largely users of ILL, rather than important contributors to the effectiveness and efficiency of the national ILL system. OBJECTIVE: This study was undertaken to test several commonly held beliefs regarding ILL system use by primary access libraries. HYPOTHESES: Three hypotheses were developed. HI: Colorado and Wyoming primary access libraries comply with the recommended ILL guideline of adhering to a hierarchical structure, emphasizing local borrowing. H2: The closures of two Colorado Council of Medical Librarians (CCML) primary access libraries in 1996 resulted in twenty-three Colorado primary access libraries' borrowing more from their state resource library in 1997. H3: The number of subscriptions held by Colorado and Wyoming primary access libraries is positively correlated with the number of items they loan and negatively correlated with the number of items they borrow. METHODS: The hypotheses were tested using the 1992 and 1997 DOCLINE and OCLC data of fifty-four health sciences libraries, including fifty primary access libraries, two state resource libraries, and two general academic libraries in Colorado and Wyoming. The ILL data were obtained electronically and analyzed using Microsoft Word 98, Microsoft Excel 98, and JMP 3.2.2. RESULTS: CCML primary access libraries comply with the recommended guideline to emphasize local borrowing by supplying each other with the majority of their ILLs, instead of overburdening libraries located at higher levels in the ILL hierarchy (H1). The closures of two CCML primary access libraries appear to have affected the entire ILL system, resulting in a greater volume of ILL activity for the state resource library and other DOCLINE libraries higher up in the ILL hierarchy and highlighting the contribution made by CCML primary access libraries (H2). CCML primary access libraries borrow and lend in amounts that are proportional to their collection size, rather than overtaxing libraries at higher levels in the ILL hierarchy with large numbers of requests (H3). LIMITATIONS: The main limitations of this study were the small sample size and the use of data collected for another purpose, the CCML ILL survey. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that there is little evidence to support several commonly held beliefs regarding ILL system use by primary access libraries. In addition to validating the important contributions made by primary access libraries to the national ILL system, baseline data that can be used to benchmark current practice performance are provided.
Benchmarking↗