Information Skills for Health

  NIHR have produced the following evidence updates and summaries: Frailty: research shows how to improve care    Stop smoking intervention in emergency departments helps people quit Pilonidal sinus: what type of surgery is best? Urinary problems in men: self-management advice is helpful More people with inflammatory bowel disease could benefit from flu vaccination Gallstones: surgery might not always be needed What drives unprofessional behaviour in healthcare? Sexual assault referral centres provide high-quality support Local green spaces are linked with better mental health What support do young carers find helpful?

  Do you need to answer a question?   When you need an answer to a healthcare question you need to find out what information already exists about it ; s o that you have the background information and latest research . Whether it is for an assignment, dissertation, research, audit or other w ork you need to complete a literature search to get the latest information and best evidenc e to answer your question .   Complete a literature search plan   How do you start your literature search? Star t with a plan. Make a literature search plan to help you to focus your search, be systematic and keep a record in case you want to repeat it.   How can the Health Library help you?   Information Skills etutorials   Develop your information searching skills by completing our short , enga ging etutorials . Read presentations, complete quizzes and watch videos to learn the essential skills to finding information efficiently and effectively.   Start off with...

NIHR have published the following evidence updates and summaries: Dialysis for kidney failure: evidence to improve care Chronic migraine: which drugs are best? Is long COVID linked with orthostatic intolerance? Is the NHS Health Check improving our population’s health? How to make remote consultations safer How best to deliver cognitive remediation as an early intervention in psychosis? Schoolchildren with asthma face different risks at different ages Can peer support workers benefit mental health services?

 During your studies or your work, you’ll need to get good quality, up-to-date information for your assignments, research, current practice and professional development. You can use databases to find the key information you need. Bibliographic databases contain the details of thousands of articles. Sophisticated search tools help you to find the latest research, best practice, commentary and professional support for your healthcare topics. Databases offer you these essential benefits: Subject Specific Databases are often specific to healthcare subjects, covering medicine, nursing, midwifery and allied health. We subscribe to a wide range of databases to support you. Run searches You can run searches to efficiently and effectively find the information you need. A range of tools help to focus your search results. Save results You can save your search results and searches to return to or re-run later. Set alerts Set alerts on your searches to receive updates of new...

From 10 October 2024, the AMED database (for NHS users) will be available on both Dialog and ProQuest platforms. This development means that searchers can stay on their preferred platform to search AMED, PsycInfo, BNI and Medline and use just one My Research account for saved searches and results. The new AMED database will feature in the ProQuest sessions delivered after 10 October: 10 October, 10am - Mental Health information on Dialog – PsycInfo and other Psychology Databases 22 October, 10am - Mental Health information on ProQuest – PsycInfo and other databases 7 November, 10am - Biomedicine and Public Health information on ProQuest – Health Research Premium collection and Medline 14 November, 10am - Plan and execute a systematic review search using ProQuest resources For further details and bookings go to the NHS ProQuest LibGuide .

eJournals provide you with the latest research as well as articles to support best practice and your professional development. The Health Library and NHS England subscribe to a wide range of healthcare-based journals. How to access Journals Most of our journals are available online. You will need a username and password to access them. This is your NHS OpenAthens username . To register for your username complete the online form . Browse for a journal title Use Browzine to browse for journal titles. This tool contains hundreds of journal titles, including the titles we subscribe to. Search for a title, view the issues and link directly to our subscription. It’s the easiest way to get to our content. For any titles or issues not included in our subscription you will be prompted to make a request – this is sent to our team and they will try to get a copy for you. Browse your list of journals by using the links to Browzine on our journals page . Find full-text for an article To find the fu...

NIHR have published new collections and alerts that you may be interested in: Collections Mental health crises: how to improve care Can stratified care help primary care teams manage long-term conditions? Alerts How can we support the mental health of children with epilepsy? How to choose the right antidepressant or antipsychotic What is the role of psychiatric decision units in mental health crisis care? How much does long COVID cost individuals, informal carers, and society? Cervical screening: home self-sampling could be environmentally friendly What help do people with learning disabilities need as they get older? Young people with long COVID need support when they attempt to go back to school Hot weather increases the risk of acute kidney injury Gastrointestinal symptoms may be a sign of early ovarian cancer in postmenopausal women CT scan reduces the complications of angiography after bypass surgery Children with anxiety problems: online therapy led by parents, supported by thera...

Webinars are available for NHS staff to help them to get to grips with the Royal Marsden Manual Online. These are delivered by trainers at Wiley, the RMMO provider. The 30-minute drop-in sessions are aimed at Knowledge and Library Services staff and end users. From Wiley: "This webinar provides comprehensive guidance on utilizing the Royal Marsden Manual efficiently, including an overview of its functionality and useful tips. Participants will learn how to navigate the manual effectively, run searches for specific procedures, and access valuable resources for clinical nursing practice. The webinar also offers a Q&A session for clarifications and provides attendees with a certificate of completion." Please book via the Wiley platform . More dates will be available next year: 8 January 2025, 11:30am to 12pm, Advanced Level 13 February 2025, 11:30am to 12pm, Basic Level 18 March 2025, 11:30am to 12pm, Advanced Level 16 April 2025, 11:30am to 12pm, Basic Level 12 May 2025, 11...

 Unsure about how to access Health Library resources? We've got all the details you need on our new tab - Access Resources . Just click on the tab above for details of how to borrow books and access online resources.

 Not sure how to use that key resource? Want a reminder of the key features of a database? Just look up to the tabs of this blog... You'll find a new tab Databases and more...  We have listed some of the essential etutorials as well as help pages and blog posts to help you to get to grips with some of our most popular and key resources.

Start to develop your literature searching skills; follow these easy steps to improve your searching.  I have updated the tabs for this blog. Check the new Literature Searching tab (above) to learn how to conduct a literature search to find the information you need for your studies, research, work and patient care. You'll find all the steps listed along with links to blog posts and etutorials to help you to develop your skills.

  Get your medical career off to a good start by making the most of the Health Library facilities, services and resources. We’ll support your professional development, ongoing work and patient care. Here’s how… Study at the Health Library Come along to the Health Library for a quiet study environment where you can catch-up with paperwork, meet colleagues and complete training. Use NHS-networked computers or borrow an NHS-based laptop to access online services and resources. Ask library staff if you need any help. Run quick searches Run simple searches for the evidence you need on the NHS Knowledge and Library Hub, across a wealth of NHS-based health focused resources. You get immediate full-text access to our subscribed resources and a quick pop-up form to request what we don’t have. For more detailed searching try our healthcare specialist databases to complete your literature search. Get evidence updates Stay up-to-date with the latest evidence and changes to clinical p...