Today’s post based on the excellent material from the NLH Search 2.0 SHA Representatives group.

When to use them?

Whenever you need ready done quality synthesised reviews of the best available evidence.

The Content

• Bandolier - advice about particular treatments for health professionals and consumers based on primary and secondary research.
• Cochrane Library Database of Systematic Reviews - systematic reviews and protocols for future reviews.
• Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects - abstracts of systematic reviews published in places other than the Cochrane Library Database of Systematic Reviews.
• NHS Economic Evaluation Database - structured economic evaluations of health care interventions.
• Health Technology Assessment Database - focussing on prevention and rehabilitation, vaccines, pharmaceuticals and devices, medical and surgical procedures and the systems within which health is protected and maintained.

Searching Evidence Based Reviews

Check the Evidence Based Reviews check box in the search box at the top of the NLH page.

This will allow you to conduct a simple search across all of the evidence based review databases and materials.

As yesterday’s post suggested there are key linking phrases available to allow you to define the relationship between concepts in your search. As a reminder we’ve detailed them again below.

• AND - to make sure the words used appear in the results - this will limit your search results.
• OR - to create an either/or link to expand your search
• NOT - to exclude a word from a search (this will limit your search).
• EXACT PHRASE - by putting your search in “speech marks” you will search for the phrase as you type it. This technique also works with Google and other search engines and is a Fade top tip to find relevant material on the internet.

Searching indivdual or Multiple Evidence Based Reviews Whilst Ignoring Others

If you click on the Evidence Based Reviews Link (as illustrated below)

You will be taken to a specific Evidence Based Reviews Search where you can use the check boxes to select the resources as illustrated below. The usual range of linking terms are available to design your search to bring back optimum results (as detailed above).

Advanced searches can also be run using the same set of parameters as described yesterday.

Saving Search Results

To save results requires you to be logged into Athens (which you can get from the NHS here, providing you work for the NHS). Check the check boxes of the items you want to save and then click the button. Alternatively just click on Save Search Result for individual items.

To retrieve items you’ve saved when you’ve logged in with your Athens password jsut click on the Saved Search Results link in the MY SEARCH section of the page.

This is also where you can find Saved Search Histories, Saved Search Criteria and your Search Profiles.

E-Mailing Search Results

You can e-mail individual search results by clicking on the More Details link. This will then bring up an e-mail form (shown below) which you can mail to yourself or a colleague you think will be interested in the item. It has space for you to add your own message.

OK it’s 7 days to go to the implementation of Search 2.0 the new route to literature searching in the NHS from the National Library for Health. So we thought we dust off the guides from the NLH Search 2.0 SHA Representatives group (this post is from Resource Guide 1: Overview), adapt the guides where we felt we needed to and give you seven days worth of tip off of the goodness to come. Never fear though, if things aren’t as smooth as we hope, the Dialog databases haven’t gone anywhere for the moment (as for the red spot search logo we don’t know the reasons behind it either but any excuse to get in a few minutes practice for this year’s International Talk Like a Pirate Day! Clearly red is the new black!)

Searching the National Library for Health

Currently there are six elements (with a seventh in development) of the library that you can search:

1. Evidence based reviews - synthesising known evidence, these secondary sources e.g. the Cochrane Library should be used when you want a quality review of the best available evidence.
2. Guidance - if you are looking for international, national guidelines or care pathways, start here.
3. Specialist Libraries - offering rapid access to the latest quality evidence by patient group or type of service.
4. Books, Journals and Healthcare Databases (Bibliographic Databases) - use them when you need to search the literature (these will need an Athens password which you can get from the NHS here, providing you work for the service).
5. Images - quality medical images/photos/graphics.
6. For Patients - quality assured information for patients.
7. Drugs Resource - is under development… as soon as we can tell you about it, we will.

Searching the Resources

Easy Search

The search box appears at the top of the National Library for Health page. You can use the check boxes to select the types of resources you want to search.

you can construct your search using the following linking terms:

• AND - to make sure the words used appear in the results - this will limit your search results.
• OR - to create an either/or link to expand your search
• NOT - to exclude a word from a search (this will limit your search).
• EXACT PHRASE - by putting your search in “speech marks” you will search for the phrase as you type it. This technique also works with Google and other search engines and is a Fade top tip to find relevant material on the internet.

Advanced Search

The advanced search option allows you to select from the range of NLH resources for inclusion in your search. It also allows you to limit a search to materials from discrete date ranges and to particular elements of a record.

If you are logged into the library you can search accross the range of journals and e-resources available to you through your Athens password.

Just hit the search button when you’re ready to search.

Search results will be displayed by type in a results bar accross the top of the page.

The added advantage with logging in is you can of course save your search to return to at any point you log-in to NLH.

Saving Search Results

To save results requires you to be logged into Athens (which you can get from the NHS here, providing you work for the NHS). Check the check boxes of the items you want to save and then click the button. Alternatively just click on Save Search Result for individual items.

To retrieve items you’ve saved when you’ve logged in with your Athens password jsut click on the Saved Search Results link in the MY SEARCH section of the page.

This is also where you can find Saved Search Histories, Saved Search Criteria and your Search Profiles.

E-Mailing Search Results

You can e-mail individual search results by clicking on the More Details link. This will then bring up an e-mail form (shown below) which you can mail to yourself or a colleague you think will be interested in the item. It has space for you to add your own message.

We get asked about places to search for grey literature and haven’t yet blogged about the OpenSIGLE - System for Information on Grey Literature in Europe which provides open access to SIGLE bibliographical references of reports and other grey literature (GL) produced in Europe.
OpenSIGLE combines the ressources of major European information and document supply centres who have joined together in an association known as EAGLE : European Association for Grey Literature Exploitation.  It’s worth noting that the British Library resigned from EAGLE in 2003.

Each centre is responsible for collecting grey literature produced in its own country and for providing details of it

The end of the week has seen us finally get the new Fade Library Website up and running. We’ve had the highs and lows of installing MySQL and PHP. The swear box has earned a few bob. Kudos to Paul at IIS Admin Blog for the clear guidance. Anyway slip over to the site and let us know what you think.

Established in 2005, the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) weighs and measures children in reception (aged 4 to 5 years) and year 6 (aged 10 to 11 years) to assess overweight and obese levels. In 2006/2007, 876,416 primary school children were measured (80 per cent of those eligible). Almost one in four five-year olds and one in three 11-year olds is overweight or obese, according to the national child measurement programme. Rates of obesity are worst in the North East, West Midlands and London, the NHS Information Centre’s NCMP NCMP 2006/07 bulletin report said.

• NCMP 2006/07 online database
• NCMP 2006/07 data tables

From the Center for Evidence Based Physiotherapy based at the School of Physiotherapy at the University of Sydney, as a database it provides the model for yesterdays OT Seeker.  The aim of PEDro is to make the bibliographic details and abstracts of randomised controlled trials, systematic reviews and evidence-based clinical practice guidelines in physiotherapy readily available.

OT Seeker is a database of systematic reviews and randomised controlled trials relevant to occupational therapy and was developed by OTs at the University of Queensland and University of Western Sydney.

The Database of Uncertainties about the Effects of Treatments (DUETs) has been established in the UK as a resource to help prioritise research by identifying uncertainties that cannot currently be answered by referring to reliable up-to-date systematic reviews of existing research evidence.

DUETs draws on three main sources to identify uncertainties about the effects of treatments:

• patients’, carers’ and clinicians’ questions about the effects of treatments
• research recommendations in reports of systematic reviews and clinical guidelines
• ongoing research, both systematic reviews in preparation and new ‘primary’ studies

Top tip: On the home page, for an idea of the content, click on BROWSE on the left hand side, you will see a list of Topic areas covered.

Posted with a tip of the still missing Ushanka to Sue over at the Lancashire Care Library and Information Service blog.

The following Prodigy guidance have been reviewed and converted to the Clincal Knowledge Summaries (CKS) format

• Asthma
• Conjunctivitis — infective
• Gingivitis and periodontitis
• Herpes simplex — oral
• MI—secondary prevention

If you’re not familiar with Clinical Knowledge Summaries, they are concise summaries on the management of 500 commonly encountered scenarios in primary and first-contact care, based on the latest evidence on common acute and chronic diseases and disease prevention.

CKS can be accessed from the National Library for Health via your Athens password (register here if you work in the NHS in the North West).

If you need any training in using this or any other electronic resources and you work for Liverpool PCT, contact us using the form below.

The image search on the National Library for Health is a cross database image search searching the following sources:

• DermIS

DermIS.net is the largest dermatology information service available on the internet. It offers elaborate image atlases (DOIA and PeDOIA) complete with diagnoses and differential diagnoses, case reports and additional information on almost all skin diseases.

• Gray’s Anatomy

The Bartleby.com edition of Gray’s Anatomy of the Human Body features 1,247 vibrant engravings—many in color—from the classic 1918 publication, as well as a subject index with 13,000 entries ranging from the Antrum of Highmore to the Zonule of Zinn.

• DermNet NZ

DermNet is the website of the New Zealand Dermatological Society Incorporated. We aim to present authoritative facts about the skin for consumers and health professionals. The site was launched in March 1996.

• Trauma.org

Largest Internet Trauma Care Site - Covers all aspects of injury prevention, evaluation and management. Includes an email Discussion group, Conference listings, Trauma Imagebank, Fellowship database. Home of Trauma Moulage on the Internet.

• ECG Library

12-lead ECG library Homepage. A collection of electrocardiograms. Learn electrocardiography by seeing examples of the various abnormalities.

• Virtual Pediatric Hospital

Virtual Pediatric Hospital is a digital library of pediatric information

• images.MD

images.MD compiles over 50,000 high-quality images spanning all of internal medicine, all derived from Current Medicines renowned series of illustrated atlases. Each image is accompanied by detailed and informative text written by over 2,000 contributing experts.

For bestuse of the search you’ll need your NHS Athens password.(To get an NHS Athens Password if you work for the NHS in the North West)If you want training in using this or any other e-resources contact the library using the form below:

Name (required)

Email (required)

Website

Text only. No markup allowed.

It’s busy times at Fade as we map the impact of changes to National Electronic Resources and work on plans to minimise the impact of changes to you our friends and colleagues whilst maximising your access to the resources you need.

From 1st April 2008

Bibliographic Databases Available to you will be

• Medline

• Embase

• British Nursing Index

• PsycInfo

• Amed

• DH-Data

• CINAHL - Full Text (to see the implications of this look here)

E-Journals

• Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases

• Archives of Disease in Childhood

• BMJ (British Medical Journal)

• British Journal of Ophthalmology

• British Journal of Sports Medicine

• Emergency Medicine Journal

• Evidence-Based Medicine

• Evidence-Based Mental Health

• Evidence-Based Nursing

• Gut

• Heart

• Injury Prevention

• Journal of Clinical Pathology

• Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health

• Journal of Medical Ethics

• Journal of Medical Genetics

• Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry

• Occupational & Environmental Medicine

• Postgraduate Medical Journal

• Practical Neurology

• Quality & Safety in Health Care

• Sexually Transmitted Infections

• Thorax

• Tobacco Control

• JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association)

• Archives of Dermatology

• Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery

• Archives of General Psychiatry

• Archives of Internal Medicine

• Archives of Neurology

• Archives of Ophthalmology

• Archives of Otololaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery

• Archives of Surgery

• Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine

E-Books remain the same.

Whilst we will lose access to Proquest, we recognise this as a good deal because it will release resources we currently use for purchase of electronic resources in terms of the BMJ and print resources too. This we’ll redirect to other resources to ensure we make the best use of electronic resources. Kudos to all at NLHCCDG.

Happy World Mental Health Day. It must be said it didn’t come as a huge shock that Tigger suffers from ADHD. Anyway to celebrate we’d like to point you in the direction of both the:

Proquest Psychology Journals database

Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Publications (EBSCOhost Web)

You’ll need your NHS Athens password to use them both (if you are part of Liverpool PCT and don’t have an Athens password you can register for one here).

We’re also giving a big shout out to Tracy’s pet class mark IRT which is the mental health collection at the Fade Library.

If you need some training in using electronic resources and you’re from Liverpool PCT, get in contact with us using the form below.

As a learning organisation there are times that staff in the PCT need to know more about educational theory than can be readily found in the core content databases on the National Library for Health. For those moments there is the ERIC database which includes summaries of more than 1,200,000 documents and journal articles on education research and practice written since 1966. It has a strong adult education focus and as usual the library will locate and obtain materials that you find with it and if you want training in using this resource or any other bibliographic databases and you’re in Liverpool PCT contact us using the form below.

If you ever wander into the Fade Library for search training you’ll hear us talk about controlled vocabularies which are used in subject indexing schemes. Controlled vocabulary schemes mandate the uses of predefined, authorised terms that have been preselected by the designer of the controlled vocabulary as opposed to natural language where there is no restriction on the vocabulary that can be used. Why do this? Simply so that they may be more accurately retrieved by a search. They solve the problems of homographs, synonyms and polysemes by ensuring that each concept is described using only one authorized term and each authorised term in the controlled vocabulary describes only one concept. In short, controlled vocabularies reduce ambiguity inherent in normal human languages where the same concept can be given different names and ensure consistency. This is vital in the health sciences where there is a particularly soft vocabulary.

Using Controlled Vocabularies in Searches

Tools to look out for in a database are the Thesaurus which hierarchically arranges the controlled vocabulary so that related terms are identified. The other technique we recommend at Fade is lateral searching where you use the descriptors of a relevant record you’ve located and them to search.  Often by clicking on a descriptor the database you are using will search that descriptor, so it’s a quick way of developing a powerful search strategy.

The Problem With Controlled Vocabularies

Controlled vocabularies are usually native to database you are using.  So MESH (the controlled vocabulary in MEDLINE) is different to EMTREE (the controlled vocabulary in EMBASE).  In MESH Primary Care is expressed as PRIMARY HEALTH CARE in EMTREE it is PRIMARY MEDICAL CARE.  The result is that to make use of the powerful tool that controlled vocabularies are you need to design search strategies to suit the controlled vocabulary of each database you use.

Want Some Search Training to Make Sense of This? 

If you want some search training to learn about search techniques and you’re from Liverpool PCT contact us using the form below.

The key thing when reading anything is to read critically and this applies to web resources as much as anything in print. However there are times when the whole Cartesian thing can be a bit much. That’s when you should consider calling on Intute. Basically its a search engine of quality assessed websites so you know that material you find here is of reasonable quality. The sites listed are selected by subject specialists who write high quality descriptions of the resources.

Key portions of the tool in health are:

• Intute Health and Life Sciences - Medicine (the resource formerly known as OMNI)
• Intute Health and Life Sciences - Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health (the resource formerly known as NMAP)

However that’s not the limit of the goodies at Intute. It also has a valuable virtual training suite which offers great introductions to using the Internet for a number of disciplines which are worth dipping into both if you are relatively new to the web or just want a refresher.

If you want some training in searching on the Internet or a run through of the resources on Intute and you’re from Liverpool PCT, use the form below to contact us.

The Centre for Reviews and Dissemination at the University of York are key players in Evidence Based Practice and Health Economics. They produce several databases in these areas but this post focus’ on NHS Economic Evaluation Database (NHS EED) which can be searched online at their site or as part of the Cochrane Library.

Why is this important for Commissioners?

Health care decision-makers need easy access to reliable information about the costs as well as the effects of drugs, treatments and procedures, to inform their decisions. Often using conventional bibliographic databases such as Medline these studies can be hard to identify and locate. NHS EED brings this sort of study together with the results of searches using other databases and hand/eye searches of paper material and evaluates the quality of the papers located.

Support in Using this Resource

If your in Liverpool PCT and need some training in searching the resource or want us to conduct a search for you, you can use the contact form below.

The TRIP database allows health professionals to easily find the highest-quality material available on the web - to help support evidence based practice. It searches a wide range of quality Evidence Based sources, including the local National Prescribing Centre’s MeReC materials, BestBETs, the full range of Evidence Based Journals from the BMJ (Evidence Based Medicine, Evidence Based Mental Health and Evidence Based Nursing that we’ve provided access to for you with your Athens password you register for it here can if you don’t have one) (you can see the full list here).

The database has a simple Google like interface up front and offers a great advanced search option for more complex searches. It also has Google like options for searching medical images and patient information leaflets. A search can also be used to create an RSS Feed that you can use in MyUpdate or your favourite Aggregator to keep up-to-date on the topic.

If you want some training using TRIP or any other search tools and you’re in Liverpool PCT contact the team at Fade using the form below.

One of the lesser known resources available to us through Athens is Ebsco’s ‘Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Publications’ which you can get to by following the link to EBSCOhost database from the MyAthens Resources part of MyLibrary from the National Library for Health (keep scrolling down the page until you see it), then select EBSCOhost Web to go into the resource. Again this is available to Liverpool PCT as a result of a Cheshire and Merseyside collaborative purchase.

It contains the full text of nearly 575 full text publications, including 550 peer-reviewed journals. Full text titles are available in HTML full-text or (searchable) PDF format. Coverage varies, with some full text content from 1965- and a fair proportion of embargoed material. However for anyone needing information in the area of the behavioural sciences it’s a must see.

Hidden at the top right hand corner of the Clinical Knowledge Service (CKS) is a link to Dynamed, which can also be found as one of the EBSCOhost databases if you go in via MyAthens Resources from MyLibrary.

DynaMed is a clinical reference tool created by physicians for physicians and other health care professionals for use primarily at the ‘point-of-care’. With clinically-organized summaries for nearly 2,000 topics, DynaMed is the only evidence-based reference shown to answer most clinical questions during practice. It has a simple yet powerful topically-driven menu allows physicians, medical students and other health care professionals to research high-end synthesized information from respected publications, associations, and contributing clinicians.

Here at Fade we’re impressed with it as a tool. If you’re in Liverpool PCT and want some training contact us using the form below.

DynaMed is updated daily and monitors the content of over 500 medical journals directly and indirectly by using numerous journal review services so you can be sure you are using the latest evidence.