MedWorm: Medical Librarians

Excellence in tobacco control: 10 high impact changes

Fade Library — Fri, 16 May 2008 10:50:11 +0100

Excellence in tobacco control: 10 High Impact Changes aims to achieve a sustainable and integrated approach to tobacco control at a local level. It clearly sets out the required actions for those charged with delivering tobacco control locally, and clearly identifies to senior stakeholders the need for high-level strategic support to achieve this. (Source: Fade Library)

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Pct procurement guide

Fade Library — Fri, 16 May 2008 10:36:50 +0100

The PCT Procurement Guide supports NHS commissioners in deciding whether and how to procure health services through formal tendering and market-testing exercises. The Guide sets out the policy and regulatory context for procurement, and issues to consider when developing a procurement strategy. The Guide should be read in conjunction with the Principles and rules for Cooperation and Competition, published as Annex D of the 2008/9 Operating Framework, and the Framework for Managing Choice Cooperation and Competition (Source: Fade Library)

Framework for managing choice cooperation and competition

Fade Library — Fri, 16 May 2008 10:31:56 +0100

The Framework for Managing Choice Cooperation and Competition supports SHAs and PCTs in understanding the roles, responsibilities, values and behaviours required for the effective management of choice and competition within the NHS. The Framework is the outcome of a series of workshops and seminars with senior SHA and PCT leaders. The Framework should be read in conjunction with the Principles and rules for Cooperation and Competition (Annex D of the 2008/9 Operating Framework) and the PCT Procurement Guide (published 16 May 2008). Additionally, the Framework signals a further series of tools and guidance for system managers to be released throughout the year. (Source: Fade Library)

The national programme for it in the nhs: progress since 2006: report by the comptroller and auditor general: hc 484-i session 2007-2008

Fade Library — Fri, 16 May 2008 10:13:00 +0100

Delivering the National Programme for IT in the NHS is proving to be an enormous challenge. All elements of the Programme are advancing and some are complete, but the original timescales for the electronic Care Records Service, one of the central elements of the Programme, turned out to be unachievable, raised unrealistic expectations and put confidence in the Programme at risk. Executive Summary The National Programme for IT in the NHS: Progress since 2006: Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General: HC 484-I Session 2007-2008: Volume 1 The National Programme for IT in the NHS: Progress since 2006: Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General: HC 484-I Session 2007-2008: Volume 2 The progress report on the Programme by the National Audit Office concludes that the original vision remains intact and still appears feasible. However, it is likely to take until 2014-15 before every NHS Trust in England has fully deployed the care records systems, four years later than planned. In the North, Midlands and East area, the software has taken much longer to develop than planned, so some Trusts have had to take an interim system. Completing the development of the system and introducing it in this area are significant challenges still to be addressed. (Source: Fade Library)

Lurching toward transparency

T. Scott — Fri, 16 May 2008 04:00:00 +0100

At yesterday's MLA Board of Director's meeting, Mark presented his update on his presidential priorities. The essence of his presidential theme ("Only Connect") has been to encourage the association to make more use of the new communication technologies to create a more vibrant, more transparent organization that more effectively embraces all of the association's members. We're not close to where we'd like to be yet, but we've made substantial progress in the past year. Blogs & wikis are proliferating throughout the association's units. The plenary session on Wednesday will be webcast live. There are ten official conference bloggers who are having their wifi paid by the association. Most important for the long run, the Board of Directors and the Headquarters staff are solidly behind these efforts. Mark has done a superb job during his presidential year of inspiring all of us to be more experimental, to stop worrying about getting it "right", and to try to foster a spirit of innovation in our association and in our own libraries. The pace starts picking up today. The board meeting starts up in another hour. At 5:00 I'll go to the NLM/AAHSL Fellows & Mentors reunion, and after that I've got a three hour credentialing committee meeting. I don't expect to get much rest between now and next Friday. But it's great, as always, to be in Chicago. I stopped at Andy's on Wednesday evening to hear some excellent music, and walked over to the Museum of Contemporary Art yesterday morning for an hour browsing some of the highlights of their permanent collection. To my delight I found that they were also featuring one of William Kentridge's classic films. An hour or two in a great museum is just the thing I need to store up energy for the week to come. (Source: T. Scott)

Friends of the suriname medical library

Browsing — Fri, 16 May 2008 04:00:00 +0100

Justus Krabshuis brings this to my attention - a website to gather donations for textbooks for the Medische Bibliotheek Suriname at the Anton de Kom University Library in Surinam. You can pledge to sponsor a particular book (there is a wishlist) or to contribute generally.The website is at http://www.mbsuriname.org/index.html (Source: Browsing)

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Twittering at mla 2008

davidrothman.net — Thu, 15 May 2008 21:09:20 +0100

There are a number of medical libraryfolk using Twitter, so I thought it might be fun if we were able to conveniently send each other short messages during MLA 2008. All I had to do was set up the MLA2008 account and register it with GroupTweet. Here’s how you can join in: 1. Go to http://twitter.com/ and sign up for a free acount 2. Go to http://twitter.com/mla2008 and click “Follow.” Shortly thereafter, you’ll receive notifcation that the MLA2008 account is also following you. 3. When you want to send a message to ALL the medical libraryfolk who follow the MLA2008 Twitter account, type: D MLA2008 [Your message here]. The MLA2008 account will take this direct message and tweet it so all who are following MLA2008 receive it. If you want, you can set up your mobile phone/device to receive tweets (silently or on vibrate when in a session, please- be polite and considerate) and use it to organize or gather information. Nikki Dettmar today used it to let us know where there was good, free WiFi not far from the Hyatt: Questions? Check Twitter’s documentation or leave questions in the comments below. (Source: davidrothman.net)

W00t!

Women's Health News — Thu, 15 May 2008 19:16:33 +0100

California Court Affirms Right to Gay Marriage [Hat tip to Christine over at the OBOS blog.] (Source: Women's Health News)

Chicago bound

Women's Health News — Thu, 15 May 2008 12:54:29 +0100

I’ll be in Chicago for the next few days,* so posting will be sparse to nonexistent. Don’t worry, I have no plans to ask you all to suffer through medical library conference-related posts here! Aside from which, our hotel is one of those annoying places that actively tries to attract business travelers and conferences yet still treats internet access as a luxury rather than as another utility, and charges for it daily. *Note to creepy freaks: the house will be occupied and guarded by attack kitties. Stay away. (Source: Women's Health News)

The year 2007/2008 - nhs chief executive’s annual report

Fade Library — Thu, 15 May 2008 10:13:01 +0100

The year 2007/2008 - NHS Chief Executive’s annual report is NHS Chief Executive David Nicholson’s second annual report looks at the progress made across the NHS in the last 12 months, and the challenges for the year ahead. In addition to his annual report, David Nicholson has published a Framework for choice, cooperation and competition and a PCT procurement guide for health services. (Source: Fade Library)

Obos post: expanded discussion of nitrous oxide for labor pain relief

Women's Health News — Wed, 14 May 2008 17:44:16 +0100

Today at Our Bodies Our Blog, we have additional discussion of a topic raised last week, nitrous oxide for pain relief in labor, including a lengthy commentary from midwife/epidemiologist Judith Rooks in reply to a comment left on the original post. The original post linked above also has a bit of background on nitrous oxide and its popularity in other nations, and citations for additional reading. Big thanks to Web Manager Extraordinaire Kiki Zeldes for coordination and editing on this one. (Source: Women's Health News)

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London calling

Fade Library — Wed, 14 May 2008 15:50:46 +0100

Project: London is a clinic of Medecins Du Monde (UK) which aims to support migrants that need help accessing healthcare. It has just published its second annual report the Project: London report and recommendations 2007: Improving access to healthcare for the community’s most vulnerable. The report finds no evidence of health tourism, with patients had been in the UK for an average of 3 years before accessing care from Project: London. Migrants are no more likely to have expensive, complicated medical needs than anyone else. It also identifies difficulties for pregnant women in accessing proper care. Although they were entitled, nearly 70% of the women had no access to care, a situation which puts both mother and child in jeopardy, and must be addressed as a matter of urgency. Proposed changes to NHS access for migrants are unlikely to be cost effective because: Lack of GP access means no chance of preventing diseases Lack of GP access means no chance of early and affordable treatment of diseases – including those which are contagious Lack of GP access is likely to lead to increased pressure on already burdened A&E department. (Source: Fade Library)

A walk to beautiful - obstetric fistula documentary

Women's Health News — Wed, 14 May 2008 14:51:56 +0100

I watched “A Walk to Beautiful” on PBS last night, and it was an extraordinarily powerful documentary on the impact of obstetric fistula in Ethiopia. Set primarily at the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, the piece profiles three women who seek medical assistance and hope after years of uncontrollably leaking urine and/or feces, living in huts, and being shunned by their communities and families. You really just have to watch this for yourself. The NOVA website indicates that what aired last night is “a 50-minute version of an original feature-length film of the same name, two of whose ‘characters’—Zewde and Yenenesh—do not appear in the NOVA version.” More information about the film, including screenings, is available at walktobeautiful.com. To learn more about obstetric fistula and support fistula hospitals, visit The Fistula Foundation. (Source: Women's Health News)

Heatwave plan for england 2008

Fade Library — Wed, 14 May 2008 14:16:49 +0100

The Heatwave Plan for England 2008 is published today on a day of blazing sunshine, so that should put paid to a summer in the UK. Its purpose is to enhance resilience in the event of a heatwave. It is an important component of overall emergency planning; and will become increasingly relevant in adapting to the impact of climate change. Related documents: Advice for health and social care professionals offers advice for individuals, or teams, engaged in primary care or social services, or for home care providers both on caring for people most at risk during a heatwave, and on organising others who provide care. Heatwave: supporting vulnerable people before and during a heatwave - advice for care home managers and staff where people are especially at risk during a heatwave. The effects of heat occur rapidly, and to be effective, preparatory action has to be taken before the beginning of June. This factsheet details necessary preparations. Heatwave: a guide to looking after yourself and others during hot weather providing useful information and advice on the hazards of a heatwave, how to recognise the symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke, and how to deal with the effects of too much heat. (Source: Fade Library)

Gopubmed

Organization Monkey — Wed, 14 May 2008 13:20:04 +0100

playing around with gopubmed for the first time (i know, i know!) today. i put in my favorite search term, “gastroesophageal reflux,” and waited to see what happened. a lot of resulting information was displayed, looking not like any search result screen i’ve ever seen. on the screen are the top authors on the topic, top journals, publications on the topic over time, author collaboration network and a world map. it’s metadata heaven! the best part for me is the mesh root paths, showing all the trees in which my search term shows up, and at what level. if i were just beginning a search and wasn’t sure i had exactly the right keyword, the root paths would be enormously helpful. i’m going to keep playing with this and see where it leads. does anybody consistently use gopubmed.org instead of www.pubmed.gov? leave a comment if so and tell me why. (Source: Organization Monkey)

Bavarian state university in second life is open for public!

DigiCMB — Wed, 14 May 2008 13:11:00 +0100

Bavarian State University in Second Life is OPEN for public! See already 4 quick&dirty movies at Healthinfo Island TV Opening and introOpening Presentation & MovieTour of the site and spectacular fireworks (New!)Read more about the service and plans at: http://www.bsb-muenchen.de/Virtuelle_Services_in_Second_L.2264.0.html (in German) (creation of the movies : recorded screencast with SMART board software, edited -and combined with mp3 songs, with Windows Movie Maker Tags: secondlife, sl, virtual worlds, bavarian, bavarian state university, library This item is automatically generated from the DIGICMB Blog of Guus van de den Brekel (Source: DigiCMB)

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Support for those affected by earthquake in china

Browsing — Wed, 14 May 2008 08:02:00 +0100

This is support available to members of the University of Leicester - a reminder of that support is at http://www2.le.ac.uk/ebulletin/bulletin-board/2000-2009/2008/05/nparticle.2008-05-13.1111858097 (Source: Browsing)

Consumer guide to virtual worlds : free full text

DigiCMB — Wed, 14 May 2008 07:58:00 +0100

A Guidebook to Virtual Worlds http://oedb.org/blogs/ilibrarian/2008/a-guidebook-to-virtual-worlds/ "free, downloadable book" The Association of Virtual Worlds has published The Blue Book: A Consumer Guide to Virtual Worlds. This free, downloadable book provides a guide, with links, to over 250 virtual worlds along with a glossary. Included are virtual environments for every age group ranging from Disney Fairies Pixie Hollow, Creebies, and Frenzoo, to one of my faves - Neopets, Planet Cazmo, and Scions of Fate. Coming soon: The Green Book: A Business Guide to Virtual Worlds. Tags: virtual worlds, secondlife, sl, blue book This item is automatically generated from the DIGICMB Blog of Guus van de den Brekel (Source: DigiCMB)

Public perceptions of privacy and dignity in hospitals

Fade Library — Tue, 13 May 2008 17:35:54 +0100

Public perceptions of privacy and dignity in hospitals is research, conducted by Ipsos MORI, involved 2,000 interviews with members of the public across the country. It was designed to explore perceptions towards privacy and dignity in hospitals, with particular emphasis on the importance of single-sex accommodation. Key findings are that cleanliness and staff attitudes are the most important factors for patients to feel they are treated with privacy and dignity in hospital. (Source: Fade Library)

Today is virtual library legislative day

Organization Monkey — Tue, 13 May 2008 17:10:49 +0100

I’m the chair of the Government Relations & Bylaws committee for the Medical Library Group of Southern California & Arizona and am on a few e-mail lists as a result, keeping me informed of what’s going on in our government related to libraries. When I see something relevant for medical librarians I direct our Group to take action. Most of the actions we take are at a grass roots level and are mainly about having our voice heard as librarians. It’s all good stuff. If you too want to stay informed in a non-in-your-face way, consider adding ALA’s District Dispatch blog to your feed reader. Occasionally I’ll point our Group to take action on a topic more broad than medical libraries. Today is such a day. It is Virtual Library Legislative Day. If you’re a librarian or a library lover (or a librarian lover for that matter), consider participating. Go to ALA’s Take Action site, type in your zip code, and send your congressional reps a little note to let them know you value libraries. (Source: Organization Monkey)

Fox news’s “sexpert” - not my kind of advice

Women's Health News — Tue, 13 May 2008 15:19:53 +0100

Today is the first time I’ve checked out the FOXSexpert column, so every other piece Yvonne Fulbright has ever written may be utter brilliance. However, I was less than enthused about some of the messaging in her current piece, “10 Sex Mistakes Women Make.” The advice isn’t all bad (in my not-so-humble opinion), but I have trouble reconciling women being advised to “Strive to stay trim and look your best, and apparently effortlessly at that” while being told in another bullet point, “Big or small, short or tall, what men find a turn-on more than anything is how a woman carries herself — her confidence. If you’re not owning your body, if you’re not embracing your figure and sexual nature, you fail to flaunt one of your biggest assets — you.” So, embrace your body, but continue to strive to look “better.” Also, you should keep your efforts hidden, because nobody likes to find out about all the artifice and privilege that goes into being conventionally pretty. She also mentions that you should never talk about “about shaving, your period, your last bowel movement, etc.” while calling these things nothing “to be ashamed of.” So, uh, how many things do you keep completely hidden, even from your own partner, that you’re not ashamed of in some way? Everybody poops. No, you don’t have to talk about it all the time, but I prefer to simply not be with someone who thinks that my bodily functions are nonexistent or disgusting. I am mammal, watch me grow hair. Fulbright further suggests that women be accepting of pornography, advising that “instead of seeing his Playboy or Penthouse as a threat, see it as an enhancement — possibly even one you can share.” That may work for some women, but Fulbright’s advice is essentially to ignore things your partner does that make you uncomfortable - without even touching the notion that many women may find such images offensive, objectifying or degrading. I find this somewhat contrary to advice in other sections on not being afraid to communicate your needs, and the advise to avoid making your partner uncomfortable with anything you do (like acknowledging that you may one day have a menstrual cycle or a bowel movement). Finally, one section of the piece cautions against become too much of a “mommy,” reminding the mothers in the audience to “see yourself as a hot mama, switching on your Marilyn Monroe persona the second you get your lover alone.” Of course, maybe you never had a “Marilyn Monroe persona,” even before motherhood. Maybe you’re not into cultivating entirely separate personas for yourself, preferring to be your real self all of the time. Or, maybe you’re too damn tired to put on an act “the second you get your lover alone.” And yet, another bit of advice in the piece reminds you not to “use sex manipulatively.” Ahem. With contradictory advice like this, is it any wonder many women have trouble resolving the conflicting messages about sex in our society? (Source: Women's Health News)

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National knowledge week for rhinitis

Browsing — Tue, 13 May 2008 13:56:00 +0100

Is this week, 12-16 May, with resources available via http://www.library.nhs.uk/ent/ - click Contents under National Knowledge Week for Rhinitis. (Source: Browsing)

Could emergency department care of sexual assault victims be improved?

Women's Health News — Tue, 13 May 2008 13:44:44 +0100

A new study published in the journal Contraception attempts to partially answer this question through a survey of emergency departments in Illinois, conducted in summer of 2004. The authors describe 10 elements of comprehensive care for sexual assault victims presenting to the ED, including acute medical care, history and physical exam, acute and long-term rape crisis counseling, prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections, prevention and treatment of HIV, and emergency contraception counseling and provision. As expected, 100% of the 156 surveyed emergency departments provide acute medical care to victims of sexual assault. However, the authors note that 92% of the surveyed EDs are missing at least one of their elements of comprehensive care, and that in many cases a written protocol guiding care was not in place. Among the other results: (respondents described services as always, sometimes, or never being offered, or indicated that they did not know) 88.4% always offered same-day rape counseling; 3.2% “never” did. 89.7% report “always” testing for STIs; 2.6% reported never testing. 71.8% “always” tested for HIV, while 10.2% never tested. Prophylaxis for STIs was offered more frequently than for HIV, with 81.4% and 31.4% respectively “always” providing this service. The authors note that routine HIV prophylaxis after sexual assault is controversial and not endorsed by the CDC. 74% “always” provided counseling on emergency contraception. 59.6% always provided emergency contraception, 31.4% sometimes provided it, 5.1% never provided it (and some didn’t know). It’s too bad that the authors didn’t provide additional detail on the geography, affiliation, or other factors that may affect a hospital’s decisions with regards to EC and other services. For example, 5.1% reported never providing counseling or access to emergency contraception, but we don’t know if those are religiously affiliated hospitals or if other barriers were in place. A few hospitals elected not to participate, and their characteristics are not described, so we don’t know if their inclusion would have affected the outcome. Finally, the authors note that state law (under the Sexual Assault Survivors Emergency Treatment Act, already in place at the time of the survey) mandates “counseling on EC to victims of sexual assault…This study demonstrates that, in spite of the Illinois law, counseling on EC occurs only 70% of the time. Counseling with on-site provision of EC occurs in only 39% of EDs.” (Source: Women's Health News)

To read: text mining and ontologies in biomedicine: making sense of raw text

Organization Monkey — Tue, 13 May 2008 13:26:11 +0100

http://kathrin.dagstuhl.de/files/Materials/08/08131/08131.SpasicIrena.Other.pdf Abstract: The volume of biomedical literature is increasing at such a rate that it is becoming difficult to locate, retrieve and manage the reported information without text mining, which aims to automatically distill information, extract facts, discover implicit links and generate hypotheses relevant to user needs. Ontologies, as conceptual models, provide the necessary framework for semantic representation of textual information. The principal link between text and an ontology is terminology, which maps terms to domain-specific concepts. This paper summarises different approaches in which ontologies have been used for text-mining applications in biomedicine. (Source: Organization Monkey)

25 years since discovery of hiv as cause of aids

Browsing — Tue, 13 May 2008 12:59:00 +0100

When I was working in my first library job, a one year post between University and library diploma, there was much talk of AIDS, not all of it terribly enlightening. There had recently been the two research groups that had isolated HIV - HTLV-3, I think was a name that was given to it by one group - and I had work colleagues who could stop themselves thinking about it seriously by viewing it only as a "gay disease" (straight colleagues, presumably - perhaps there still are such people). Anyway, I am made to ramble like this by an editorial in Science, looking at where HIV and AIDS research has got to in those 25 years.The editorial is:Bernstein A. AIDS and the Next 25 Years. Science 2008; 320(5877): 717. Available at: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/320/5877/717This will work on campus only for University of Leicester members. (Source: Browsing)

Scalpel injuries in the operating theatre

Browsing — Tue, 13 May 2008 12:53:00 +0100

Hitch with subscription prevents me from seeing full text, but an editorial in the BMJ discusses this:Watt AM et al. Scalpel injuries in the operating theatre. BMJ 2008; 336:1031. Available from http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/extract/336/7652/1031?etoc (Source: Browsing)

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Opening bavarian state library in second life today!

DigiCMB — Tue, 13 May 2008 07:28:00 +0100

Today a new German SIM called "Insel der Information" (Island of Information) of the Bavarian State Library, will be opened by the Avatar of the RL Deputy Director General at 5pm CET, (8:00 AM SLT). They will have Music, Fireworks etc. The event was announced earlier (in German) at the website of the Library The Bavarian State Library in München wants to be innovative, explorative and possibly even leading on 3d-media and new Internet-developments in connection to library services. Tags: Second Life, SL, Virtual Library, SIM, Bavarian State Library, Bayerische StaatsBibliothek, München This item is automatically generated from the DIGICMB Blog of Guus van de den Brekel (Source: DigiCMB)

Silver

T. Scott — Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 +0100

When I leave for Chicago tomorrow, it'll be to attend my 25th annual meeting of the Medical Library Association. It'll be the third I've been to in Chicago, and the previous ones were memorable. In '93 the meeting was at the Palmer House. I remember seeing Jackie McLean at the Jazz Showcase and sitting up late talking with the guys in his band. I remember sitting in the lobby of the Palmer House at dawn, with a companion, watching the hotel come alive for the day's meetings. Most significantly I remember accepting Lynn's late invitation to join a group that she was taking to the Parthenon for dinner. And later that night, she showed up at Excalibur where I'd gone to meet some of the Dakotans (a reunion that, alas, no longer takes place). I remember stopping on the Michigan Avenue bridge that night as I walked back to the Blackstone and looking down into the water, seeing all of the twists and turns my life had taken in the past few years and wondering what would happen next. I had no idea... By '99, MLA had outgrown the Palmer House and the meeting had moved to the Hyatt. I was on the National Program Committee that year (the only year for which I can actually recall the theme -- "Present Tense -- Future Perfect?"). Lynn and I were married, and for her birthday I rented a limo and we drove along the lake on a beautiful sunlit evening, drinking champagne, before being dropped off at Charlie Trotter's for dinner. That was the year that I applied to be the editor of the JMLA. I had no idea... When I was an NLM Associate in 1984, it was simply assumed that one of the things one did was to join MLA and go to the annual meeting. I was a sponge in that year, and if my mentors told me that one of my responsibilities as a medical librarian was to become involved in MLA, who was I to question it? So my attitude is a little different from that of some of my colleagues who think carefully about whether or not association involvement is worthwhile for them. I do it because contributing is one of the things I'm supposed to do. I get an awful lot out of it, of course, but I've remained involved and active because I believe it's part of my responsibility to the profession. It's one of the ways that I try to pay back all of the people who have mentored and helped me along the way. It's a debt that I don't ever expect to fully discharge. This is something that we take seriously at my library as well (and that was the case long before I got there). There will be ten of us at MLA this year -- three are section chairs (current or incoming), there's a committee chair, a SIG convenor, several people doing posters or moderating panels. One's a member of this year's NPC and somebody else is teaching a CE course. I'm quite proud of them. As for me, it'll be long and busy. It's not as hectic as the years when I was JMLA editor, but I've got a very tight schedule -- the MLA board meets Thursday afternoon and all day Friday. I'll be at all the plenaries, of course, and attending several section & committee meetings on behalf of the board. There are a handful of other meetings that I've set up to talk with people about various projects and there are even a few papers that I'd like to get in to see. Of course there's the Bearded Pigs event on Sunday and the flurry of logistics surrounding that. The evenings are lined up with receptions or dinners. To finish it off, on Wednesday I'll move over to the O'Hare Hilton for the Joint AAHSL/Publisher Task Force meeting that will take place all day on Thursday. By then I'll have been gone more than a week, but I'm really looking forward to that session. And then I get home very late that night. I'm eager to dive into it. I know I'll get a lot done and I'm sure I'll have a fine time. And what will be the singular memories that'll rise to the fore when I look back at this Chicago meeting years from now? I have no idea... (Source: T. Scott)

When to share information

Fade Library — Mon, 12 May 2008 14:28:46 +0100

When to share information has been developed as a cross-governmental initiative on behalf of Department of Health, Department for Children, Schools and Families, the Youth Justice Board and the Prison Service. It is set out in a pathway approach, with best practice case studies used to identify when, what, where and how information needs to be shared to ensure improved outcomes for children and young people, as outlined in Every Child Matters: Change for Children. (Source: Fade Library)

Five years on - are we half way there?

Fade Library — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:29:46 +0100

Five years on - are we half way there? from Diabetes UK suggests that half way through the ten-year plan, the NHS’s progress in achieving person-centred, co-ordinated care that aims to ensure fewer people develop diabetes and better care for those who have the condition will fail to deliver on the standards it set itself five years ago if it doesn’t refocus NHS efforts. It finds that while some people with diabetes in some parts of the country receive excellent care, many are still not benefiting from the effective delivery of diabetes services that the NSF set out to achieve. This puts almost 1.9 million people with diabetes in England at increased risk of serious complications including heart disease, stroke and blindness. (Source: Fade Library)

I might as well contribute to the politicization of mother’s day - planned parenthood and abortion

Women's Health News — Sun, 11 May 2008 23:02:14 +0100

The blogosphere (certain portions of it) has been all atwitter this week about Planned Parenthood’s Mother’s Day fundraising campaign, in which the organization asks that you “make your gift in honor of someone you love for Mother’s Day.” A representative of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign stated, “The irony of Planned Parenthood asking for Mother’s Day donations in honor of mothers and daughters hardly needs pointing out.” I suppose if you assume that the women who have abortions are not mothers, will never be mothers, then you might not need the irony pointed out. Some do seem to assume this, as a local blogger called Planned Parenthood “the organization that turns would-be mothers into non-mothers.” In fact, the CDC reports that in 2004, of the women who had legal induced abortions, “40% were known to have had no previous live births, and 32% had two or more previous live births. The abortion ratio was highest for women who had three previous live births and lowest for those who had one previous live birth.” In other words, 60% of women who have abortions are already mothers, and women with more children have a higher rate of abortion than those with fewer children. Aside from which, Planned Parenthood offers other reproductive health services that women (including mothers) may very well need throughout their lives. A woman may choose not to carry a particular pregnancy to term, but that does not mean that none of these women are mothers. Say what you want about the “appropriateness” of a Planned Parenthood Mother’s Day fundraising drive, but vanishing 60% of the women who have abortions just because they don’t fit a stereotype or useful narrative simply isn’t truthful. Happy Mother’s Day, Mom. It’s all your fault/to your credit that I mouth off when I should have the “decency” to keep quiet (but we can totally blame Dad if you prefer). (Source: Women's Health News)

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History of medicine division : turning the pages

DigiCMB — Sat, 10 May 2008 17:58:00 +0100

I keep getting amazed about the great resources, exhibitions, games and other interactive information that is available of the websites of the National Library of Medicine (NLM). This week I did look at the wonderful exhibitions and projects of the History of Medicine Division. The current exhibition in the NLM Rotunda is called Against the Odds: Making a Difference in Global Health. And I also found a project called Turning the Pages (TTP) . "At the Turning the Pages kiosk in the History of Medicine Reading Room cloak room, visitors can "turn the pages" of Elizabeth Blackwell's A Curious Herbal, a beautifully illustrated 18th century book of medicinal plants. You can also veiw the online version of Turning the Pages. " I just could not stop myself trying to implement these books in the NLM Toolbar. Here is how this looks right now: This item is automatically generated from the DIGICMB Blog of Guus van de den Brekel (Source: DigiCMB)

Public citizen petitions fda to take contraceptive patch off the market

Women's Health News — Sat, 10 May 2008 17:00:54 +0100

Now for something completely different, an organization is petitioning the FDA to take a contraceptive off the market, and it seemingly has nothing to do with religious/political ideology. Public Citizen is advocating for a phased withdrawal of the patch from the market, noting in their petition to the agency the increased estrogen exposure and risk of blood clots as compared with the pill. Earlier this year, the FDA revised the patch’s labeling to note these same issues. The organization argues that these increased risks come with no real improvement in pregnancy prevention. I almost don’t know how to respond when an org wants the FDA to make a contraception decision and the argument has nothing to do with restricting access for purely ideological reasons. No, seriously, it’s been too long. (Source: Women's Health News)

Think about the images you’ll use in your presentations

Organization Monkey — Sat, 10 May 2008 14:30:13 +0100

many of my colleagues are getting ready for the upcoming conference of medical librarians, preparing their posters for display and powerpoint files for paper presentations. many of them will use charts to visually display their ideas, with the hope that a single, effective image will stick with their audience. the best charts are the ones that convey one idea (easy to view) rather than many ideas (confusing for the audience). of course, they’ll also stick with you if they’re hilarious, like these song-related charts at boyshapedbox on flickr. i would like to direct your attention to the clinical cases and images blog’s post on how not to give a presentation. be sure to view the slideshare link there, called “death by powerpoint.” (Source: Organization Monkey)

Saturday news round-up:

Women's Health News — Sat, 10 May 2008 13:56:02 +0100

MADRE is working with the Women’s Human Rights Defenders Network and Burmese women’s organizations to provide assistance following the devastation in Myanmar/Burma - you can donate online to this effort. The Office of Women’s Health is kicking off the WOMAN Challenge on Sunday to coincide with National Women’s Health Week - it’s an 8-week physical activity challenge, and participants can register online to track their progress. The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health is talking about how immigration is a reproductive justice issue. I haven’t read the studies yet, but researchers evaluated the response when pregnant and non-pregnant applied for jobs, and evaluated the response of retail clerks to pregnant vs. non-pregnant shoppers (including the use of pregnancy protheses for the experiment). This summary describes the apparent discrimination experienced by pregnant (or faux pregnant) individuals in the studies. Christine has a great “Double Dose” round-up of additional stories at Our Bodies Our Blog. While you’re there, check out the whole OBOS website, which was included in this recent round-up of women’s health websites on CNN. If you’re near DC/Bethesda, the Office of Research on Women’s Health is hosting a free community forum on May 16th, “Seeking New Dimensions and Strategies for Women’s Health Research: Recognizing the Contributions of Our Bodies, Ourselves.” [Download this PDF for additional event details] And no, I haven’t had a chance to read the “breastfeeding makes smarter babies!” study yet. May is a busy month! Don’t forget to call your mama tomorrow! (Source: Women's Health News)

The commissioner volume 3 issue 5 is out now

Fade Library — Fri, 09 May 2008 15:36:34 +0100

Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) Commissioning Toolkit CSIP Better Commissioning programme New NICE Commissioning guides: Cognitive behavioural therapy and Faecal continence service West Kent PCT: World Class Commissioning strategy and delivering a commissioning model National Cancer Intelligence Network Commissioning Specialist Library: Have you say A resource to help primary care pharmacists in England involved in PBC Revised guidance: primary care dental contracts Advice on managing end of year issues Other documents, websites and conferences RSS Feed Listen to the Commissioner Volume 3 Issue 5 Feed for Podcast Standard Podcasts [6:19m] (Source: Fade Library)

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Found in mentalfloss store

Organization Monkey — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:59:54 +0100

med school in a box (Source: Organization Monkey)

Don’t go, sue!

Women's Health News — Fri, 09 May 2008 13:50:27 +0100

Damn. Sue Johanson of Oxygen’s “Talk Sex” is retiring, and the last episode will air on Sunday night (and will count down the year’s top 10 sex toys). Sue’s call-in sex advice show was one of the most awesome things on television, if you find a “septugenarian” Canadian talking frankly about sex as awesome as I do. If you’re not at work, check out some clips of Sue on YouTube. I’ll leave you with one of Sue’s famous quotes: “If you can’t laugh about sex, you shouldn’t be doing it.” (Source: Women's Health News)

Nhs next stage review leading local change

Fade Library — Fri, 09 May 2008 10:20:51 +0100

The NHS Next Stage Review has been led locally by clinicians in each NHS region. Seventy-four local clinical working groups, made up of some 2000 clinicians, have been looking at the clinical evidence and engaging with their local communities. They have developed improved models of care for their regions to ensure that the NHS is up to date with the latest clinical developments and is able to meet changing needs and expectations. NHS Next Stage Review Leading Local Change sets the context for these local visions and the principles which will guide their implementation. (Source: Fade Library)

Changing for the better

Fade Library — Fri, 09 May 2008 10:13:02 +0100

Changing for the Better provides best practice guidance on provide clear guidance for patients, the public and NHS staff on the processes underpinning changes to acute NHS services arising from the NHS Next Stage Review. (Source: Fade Library)

Final project report for healthinfo island project in second life now available!

DigiCMB — Fri, 09 May 2008 09:38:00 +0100

A final project report from the Alliance Library System marks the latest chapter in an exciting experiment funded by the Greater Midwest Region of the National Library of Medicine (GMR/NNLM). The project, entitled “Providing Consumer Health Outreach and Library Programs to Virtual World Residents in Second Life” provided outreach to virtual medical communities, health training and information for residents of Second Life, links to consumer health resources, one-on-one support to residents, and part-time staffing for HealthInfo Island. Carol Perryman, a doctoral student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an experienced medical and consumer health librarian, coordinated the project. She stated, ” Participation in such an environment challenges the creative imagination. What is a library collection in a place where proprietary resources are out of the question? We feel collaboration is part of the answer.” “We are thrilled to have been part of this exciting and ground-breaking new project and providing quality health information to residents of Second Life,” said Kitty Pope, Executive Director of the Alliance Library System. “Virtual worlds hold great promise for people with chronic health conditions and for people seeking information on health.” Working with Perryman on the project was Guus van den Brekel, Coordinator of Electronic Services, Central Medical Library, University Medical Center, Groningen. Tom Peters, CEO of TAP Information Services, evaluated the project and authored the final report. On HealthInfo Island, the first version of World AIDS day was observed, along with a class on finding quality AIDS and HIV information, a series of presentations by health educators and support group leaders whose “real life” locations were all over the world. A “Path of Support” created by a member of the disability community called the Heron Sanctuary, displays some of the more than 70 health support groups active in Second Life. Other events included a panel discussion about design for accessibility, a presentation about grassroots activism for disability activitists, and a casual question-and –answer session with a diabetes support group and an internal medicine physician in Greece. For more information, please contact Carol Perryman at cp1757@gmail.com (or me ;-)) The report is available here. Tags: infoisland, healthinfo island, secondlife, sl, report, als, alliance lirbary system, nlm, virtual worlds This item is automatically generated from the DIGICMB Blog of Guus van de den Brekel (Source: DigiCMB)

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Medigo : widget for netvibes, widgetbox & facebook

DigiCMB — Fri, 09 May 2008 08:09:00 +0100

I mentioned MediGo, a new Dutch Medical & Health Care Search engine, before. Now MediGo is also available (besides the searchbox in javascript they offer on the website): as Netvibes UWA widget Add to Netvibes Also available for: iGoogle Apple Dashboard Opera Windows Vista beta Windows Live beta as Widgetbox widget and as Facebook application. Tags: mediGo, widget, facebook, netvibes, medical, healthcare, health, medicine This item is automatically generated from the DIGICMB Blog of Guus van de den Brekel (Source: DigiCMB)

Balance

T. Scott — Fri, 09 May 2008 04:00:00 +0100

I forgot to tell my mother I was going to Scotland. Things have been a little hectic lately. (And now I'm wondering if we remembered to tell Marian!!) The Scotland trip feels as if it's a long way off, but in fact, we leave just three weeks from tomorrow. But MLA in Chicago is between now and then, and that looms much larger. My ostensible purpose in going to the CILIPS conference in Peebles is to deliver a talk on how librarians are delivering health information to their communities. There's been a tremendous shift over the past quarter century in the focus that medical librarians have had and it's going to be great fun to go over some of those issues and talk about some of the things that MLA and NLM are doing, as well as some of the things that are happening locally. I haven't actually started to put the talk together (it's still three and a half weeks away, for heaven's sake!), but I've been thinking about it in spare moments and I think I've got a good handle on how I want to approach it. The real reason they want me there, though, is so The Bearded Pigs can play at the awards banquet. We won't quite have the whole band -- Cogman, SG & Russell can't make it. But the nice thing about having an eight piece band is that there are many subsets of the whole group that can perform as The Bearded Pigs (or The Nucleus). We'll have a ringer for a bass player -- a local librarian. We've corresponded just a bit by email and he seems unfazed by the prospect of sitting in and playing with people he's never met on songs that he's never heard. Sounds like our kind of guy. So on the Tuesday evening, I'll play guitar and sing my heart out, and on Wednesday afternoon (thank god it's not the first thing in the morning!) I'll spend an hour or so talking about health information and the impact that we can have on the communities that we're a part of. There's been some chatter lately about the perennial work/life balance issue. These discussions often emphasize the importance of having a "life outside of work." I resolved that for myself a long time ago. I don't have a "life outside of work." I have a life. It's comprised of many things -- many responsibilities, many joys, a handful of deep sorrows, a continual sense of wonderment as the days unfold. I never stop being the library director, but I never stop being the musician, friend, grandfather, lover, writer, or endlessly curious little boy, either. When a "job" is what you go to for eight hours a day, five days a week, within rigid time & place boundaries, I suppose it makes psychological sense to think of "work" and "life" as two separate things. But in the networked world in which we now live, for many people that time & space separation simply doesn't exist. It certainly doesn't for me. When I go to Peebles, whether I'm playing guitar or talking about health information, I'll just be living my life as best I can. (Source: T. Scott)

Blogging mla 2008

davidrothman.net — Thu, 08 May 2008 18:58:22 +0100

Looks like I *will* be blogging in the month of May, but only from Chicago. To my surprise, I was approved as an “official conference blogger” for MLA 2008. All MLA 2008 conference bloggers: Stewart Brower - Professional Notes A’Lyn Ettien - The Creature from the Health Informatics Class Marie Kennedy - Organization Monkey Maureen ‘Molly’ Knapp - LSUHC New Orleans Health Sciences Center Michelle Kraft - The Krafty Librarian Leigh Mihlrad - Leigh’s Little Corner of the Web Emily Molanphy (Emily has 2 blogs!) - Emily’s Journal - and - Eponymous Blog about Libraries Bryan Nugent - The Universe of Medical Librarianship David Rothman - davidrothman.net Eric Schnell - The Medium is the Message For reasons I haven’t yet been able to determine, they decided to aggregate all posts about MLA 2008 from each of these blogs on a page at a WetPaint wiki …but don’t provide an aggregated feed. So here’s a feed I slapped together in Yahoo! Pipes. Here’s that same feed, previewed with FeedSweep: I’ll put together a feed that pulls from more than official sources (sort of like the one I set up for CIL2008) next week and will elaborate on the MLA2008 GroupTweet I set up that’ll allow MLA attendees who use Twitter to conveniently send a tweet to all other MLA 2008 Twitter users from a laptop, cell phone, or other mobile device. I’m bringing with me to Chicago these newfangled devices for the digital recording of sound and images (both still and moving)- so expect at least a little of that sort of stuff to appear here between 5/17 and 5/21. :) (Source: davidrothman.net)

User Education Resources for Librarians — Thu, 08 May 2008 17:19:00 +0100

The Internet Archive won their fight against a National Security letter from the FBI, and can now talk about it: http://www.archive.org/iathreads/post-view.php?id=192021 . (Source: User Education Resources for Librarians)

I’m an omnivore without a dilemma

Organization Monkey — Thu, 08 May 2008 17:14:45 +0100

the pew internet & american life project quiz says i’m an omnivore. i believe the report. take the quiz yourself to see how you fit into the techno-world. brief description of an omnivore: Omnivores embrace all this connectivity, feeling confident in how they manage information and their many devices. This puts information technology at the center of how they express themselves, do their jobs, and connect to their friends. only 8% of the american public are omnivores. if you take the quiz and find that you are an omnivore, please leave a comment on this blog. we should friend each other on facebook, follow each other on twitter, or hook up on meebo. (*snicker*) (Source: Organization Monkey)

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Additional musings on the oklahoma abortion ultrasound law

Women's Health News — Thu, 08 May 2008 13:50:05 +0100

Demarcationville wins the internet today, with this piece inspired by Oklahoma’s new law requiring ultrasounds prior to abortion. As someone who was raised Conservative and Southern Baptist, she explains that although she is “still innately Pro-Life:” …I reject the idea that any state, government, leader, court, man or woman has authority over the area beyond my bloomers. You know, as a woman, there are few things I control in this world, but I’d damn well consider my reproductive “parts” among them - so you’re out of your jurisdiction. Seriously, ya’ll don’t know me like that. “You’re out of your jurisdiction.” - I just had to repeat that, because I love it so much and it gave me a much-needed chuckle. The rest of her commentary is also good, including her explanation of the assumptions that underlie the forced ultrasound thinking. (Source: Women's Health News)

Government response to the joint committee on human rights: a life like any other? human rights of adults with learning disabilities

Fade Library — Thu, 08 May 2008 13:18:36 +0100

The Joint Committee on Human Rights (the Committee) published its report ‘A life like any other? human rights of adults with learning disabilities’ on 6 March 2008. This memorandum sets out the government response response to the conclusions and recommendations in that report. (Source: Fade Library)

Evaluation of early medical abortion (ema) pilot sites - final report

Fade Library — Thu, 08 May 2008 13:11:06 +0100

The Evaluation of Early Medical Abortion (EMA) Pilot Sites - final report has been heavily reported in the mass media today. It was commissioned by the Department of Health to assess the safety, effectiveness and acceptability of early medical abortions (EMAs) in non-traditional settings, and to help establish a protocol to cover the elements and processes required for the delivery of a safe EMA service in non-traditional settings. Conclusions Subject to the fairly considerable limitations of the current study, and from a range of sources, including medical records, and staff and client views, there are no discernible differences between the pilot sites and their matched comparator sites in terms of the safety, effectiveness or acceptability of non-traditional sites for the administration of early medical abortions. Detailed protocols and guidelines should be developed to cover staffing requirements as well as clinical aspects of care. Given the importance of reassurance and support throughout the process, the centrality of suitably motivated and skilled nursing staff to any expansion of EMA provision cannot be overestimated. (Source: Fade Library)

Code of practice mental health act

Fade Library — Thu, 08 May 2008 12:40:03 +0100

The revised Code of Practice Mental Health Act has been prepared in accordance with section 118 of the Mental Health Act 1983 by the Secretary of State for Health after consulting such bodies as appeared to him to be concerned, and laid before Parliament. The Code will come into force in November 2008. (Source: Fade Library)