Introduction To Electronic Resources Accessing Sources Of Evidence For Practice Introduction To Electronic Resources Karen Smith Department of Health Sciences

Introduction To Electronic Resources

Accessing Sources Of Evidence For Practice


Karen SmithDepartment of Health SciencesUniversity of York


Introduction to Electronic Resources

Objectives

Have an overview of information sources and their applications

Know how to access subject-related web-based resources

Know how to access electronic journals


Objectives Ctd Have practical experience of using

relevant key sources such as National Electronic Library for Health, Department of Health website etc.

Know how to evaluate printed and electronic information and identify quality resources


Why Use Electronic Resources? Saves time by being searchable Easy access from anywhere e.g. work,

home, holiday Up to date information –printed information

takes time to produce Better researched essay references They are free – the University pays a

subscription on your behalf!


Electronic Journals and Newspapers Connections to a wide range of full text electronic journals and newspapers

Some available only electronically

Some available in print

Some available in both


Electronic Journals and Newspapers There is access to over 10,000 titles From home – may require ATHENS

password From most databases e.g. Cinahl From the Library Catalogue From the website - see this for further

information http://www.york.ac.uk/library/ejournal/


Key Sites – Subject Related National Library for Health (NLH) - the NHS digital

library for staff, patients and the public

http://www.library.nhs.uk/

Hitting the Headlines – for the clinician and patient to quickly identify the reliability of news stories and the research evidence on which they are based

http://www.nelh.nhs.uk/


Key Sites – Subject Related

NLH Specialist Libraries Cancer

Cardiovascular DiseasesChild HealthClinical GeneticsComplementary and Alternative MedicineDiabetesEmergency CareENT and Audiology

etc.


Key Sites – Subject RelatedGuidance

Guidelines FinderHealth Technology Assessment Database (CRD)

NICE GuidancePRODIGY KnowledgeProtocols & Care Pathways


Key Sites – Subject Related

Evidence Bandolier

Clinical EvidenceCochrane Database of Systematic ReviewsCRD Database of Abstracts of Reviews of EffectsDrug and Therapeutics BulletinNHS Economic Evaluation DatabaseNIHR HTA ProgrammeResearch Findings Register


NHS ATHENS

Most NHS resources are free Provides access to additional

databases and electronic journals To create an NHS password from an

NHS PC: https://www.athens.nhs.uk/region/


Key Sites – Subject Related Department Of Health - health and social care policy,

guidance and publications

http://www.dh.gov.uk/

Department of Health Publications - full text of publications where available and a publications library http://www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/fs/en


Key Sites - Organisational Royal College of Nursing – access to public and members

information

World Health Organization - the World Health Organization is the United Nations specialized agency for health

British Medical Association- open access public pages include ethics,

science, policy, news, healthcare information Science Policy Library

News Healthcare information

BMA jobs


Electronic Books

Available through the library catalogue

Electronic access to titles in high demand

Covers a range of subjects, education, history, health studies, sociology, literature


Why Evaluate Information Resources

Information found on the Internet can be unreliable

Information in books and journals can be unreliable

You need to evaluate all information you find – this will save you time


How To Evaluate Information Resources

Purpose: A summary or an in depth research?

Audience: Expert or the general public?

Authority: Is it a well known author, academic publisher or organisation or an opinion?


How To Evaluate Information Resources

Currency: Up to date?

Accuracy: Has it been checked by a reliable editor?

Reliability: Well respected author?


How To Evaluate Information Resources Ctd

Has it been peer reviewed i.e. reviewed by an expert in the field

E.g. Wikipedia – take great care when using…..

Use these tips to help you decide if the information you find is suitable


Evaluating Web Resources – Special Considerations

Not necessarily peer reviewed i.e. checked by an editor, publisher or librarian

Therefore judge carefully ……


Hitting The Headlines on NLH

http://www.library.nhs.uk/rss/newsAndRssArticle.aspx?uri=http%3a%2f%2fwww.library.nhs.uk%2fresources%2f%3fid%3d206086


Evaluating Web Resources – Special Considerations

Anyone can publish a web page

Are the authors named?

Are they regulated or can they publish anything?

Can you tell whether they have a good knowledge of the subject?


Who Owns The Information?

Look at the URL to see where the information comes from:

UK Government .gov Educational .edu .ac Company .com .co Non-profit .org


Which of these is more relevant?


Which of these is more relevant ?- the answer:

No.1 because it relates to the UK and is an official source (the Department for Trade and Industry). Therefore the facts are likely to be more reliable, than article 2 which is commentary from an internet site on a survey by a retail consultancy firm


A good example: Look at this Web page for the European Agency

for Safety and Health at Work [ http://europe.osha.eu.int/ ]

What practical clues are there that might tell you Who, What Why and When?

Points to note about this page: It's got a home page link from the "European

Agency for Safety & Health at Work" box on each page

It's got a clearly marked site contents MENU It's got a clearly marked contact link "Comments" It's got clearly marked About and Help pages. It's got a Frequently Asked Questions page It's got a site search facility [And, if you were to scroll down, you would find a

Last Updated date and a Disclaimer] By exploring these clues you should be able to tell

a lot about this page - how current it is, what it's policy is and where it's coming from, what's on the site, how to get back to the main page, and who to contact should you have any concerns or queries about it. It would be nice if all sites were as clear as this one!


Also Look Out For:

Up to date information: Good sites tell you when they were last

updated How old is the information?

How readable is it? Can you tell what is propaganda or

marketing? Advertising, pop up boxes, distracting

graphics


A good start:

Ask:

WHO? WHAT? WHY? WHEN?


Also Look Out For: Ctd

Is it objective?

It might look very authoritative but is there a hidden agenda

i.e. patient information produced by a drug company


Example:


Quackwatch verdict:http://www.quackwatch.org/index.html

WholeHealthMD Stephen Barrett, M.D. WholeHealthMD is the Internet division of American WholeHealth, Inc., which offers "integrative medicine" services

for consumers, practitioners, and health plans [1]. The WholeHealthMD Web site offers advice on "complementary and alternative therapies" from practitioners with a variety of backgrounds. The site includes news; advice for managing many conditions; a reference library on vitamins, supplements, foods, herbs, and drugs; a practitioner directory; and recipes for reducing fat, cholesterol and sodium in favorite dishes. As often occurs on sites where "alternatives" are concerned, product recommendations are conveniently linked to the site of a strategic partner" (Familymeds.com) that will sell them to you. But the advice is a mixture of sense and nonsense that only experts can sort out.

As for specifics (to name just a few), don't believe the advice that everyone should take a multivitamin; vitamins C and E are good for angina; chitosan will produce weight loss; pressing on the bones of the skull (craniosacral therapy) can "enhance the functioning of all the body's organs"; or that homeopathic remedies are good for anything.

The article on chelation therapy is especially bad and appears to me to have been deliberately written to mislead the reader by describing the views of advocates and critics as though they are equally valid. It states that chelation therapy is FDA-approved for treating heavy metal poisoning but fails to note that the product approved for this purpose differs from that of "chelation therapists" who claim to treat heart disease and other serious diseases. It states that the American College of Advancement in Medicine (ACAM) trains practitioners, but fails to reveal that the Federal Trade Commission charged ACAM with false advertising and obtained a cease-and-desist order baring it from advertising that chelation therapy is effective against heart disease. It states that "critics . . . note that most studies showing its effectiveness have been done by physicians with a financial interest in the therapy." The fact is, however, that no studies show effectiveness and the allegedly positive studies have been criticized for their poor design, not on the basis of who reported them [2].

The discussion of applied kinesiology (AK) is equally dishonest. AK is a pseudoscientific system of muscle-testing and therapy based on the notion that every organ dysfunction is accompanied by a specific muscle weakness, which enables diseases to be diagnosed through muscle-testing procedures. Its theories clash with what is known about the body and it has been debunked by several published studies [3]. But WholeHealthMD merely states that "Within the standards of conventional physicians, there has been no rigorous scientific testing that has shown applied kinesiology to be an effective diagnostic tool."

References About the company. American WholeHealth Web site, accessed Oct 11, 2001. Green S. Chelation Therapy: Unproven Claims and Unsound Theories. Quackwatch, revised Sept 14, 2000. Barrett S. Applied Kinesiology: Muscle-Testing for "Allergies" and "Nutrient Deficiencies." Quackwatch, revised Nov 15,

2000.


The Workbook

Electronic journals

Key web resources

Evaluating information resources

Test your skills

Documents

Introduction To Electronic Resources Accessing Sources Of Evidence For Practice Introduction To Electronic Resources Karen Smith Department of Health Sciences