Information resources for disaster response from the US National Library of Medicine

2009 ◽  
Vol 189 ◽  
pp. S267
Author(s):  
Jeanne Goshorn
2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia B. Love ◽  
Stacey J. Arnesen ◽  
Steven J. Phillips

AbstractThe US National Library of Medicine (NLM) offers Internet-based, no-cost resources useful for responding to the 2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak. Resources for health professionals, planners, responders, and researchers include PubMed, Disaster Lit, the Web page “Ebola Outbreak 2014: Information Resources,” and the Virus Variation database of sequences for Ebolavirus. In cooperation with participating publishers, NLM offers free access to full-text articles from over 650 biomedical journals and 4000 online reference books through the Emergency Access Initiative. At the start of a prolonged disaster event or disease outbreak, the documents and information of most immediate use may not be in the peer-reviewed biomedical journal literature. To maintain current awareness may require using any of the following: news outlets; social media; preliminary online data, maps, and situation reports; and documents published by nongovernmental organizations, international associations, and government agencies. Similar to the pattern of interest shown in the news and social media, use of NLM Ebola-related resources is also increasing since the start of the outbreak was first reported in March 2014 (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2014;0:1-4)


2013 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 36-39
Author(s):  
Toshiyasu Ōba

The National Diet Library (NDL) is Japan’s national library, established in 1948 to provide research facilities for members of parliament, but now used most by the general public. Similar in purpose and scope to the US Library of Congress, the NDL is a deposit library, and collects copies of all publications that originate in Japan. For nearly a decade and a half the Library has been making digital reproductions of paper documents and printed material, but the pace at which it has added to its digitised content has speeded up remarkably in recent years. It has also developed and continues to enhance integrated search services that allow users to cross-search the databases of many other museums, libraries, archives and research institutes in Japan and retrieve information resources from them. A digital archive of records of the earthquake and related disasters that struck Japan in March 2011 is under way.


Author(s):  
James Turner ◽  
Terri Rebmann ◽  
Travis Loux ◽  
Donghua Tao ◽  
Alexander Garza

AbstractEmergency planners and first responders often access web-based information resources during disasters; however, these tools require an active Internet connection, which may be unavailable during a disaster. The National Library of Medicine (NLM) provides several free non-web-based disaster response tools. This study assessed intention to use web-based and non-web-based informational and response tools during disasters among emergency responders and librarians. Educational workshops were held in four Missouri cities in spring, 2016. The NLM tools were presented and attendees practiced using the tools during disaster scenarios. Pre- and post-intervention data about NLM tool awareness and intention to use these tools versus other web-based resources was collected. McNemar tests assessed a pre/post change in intention to use each resource. Four workshops were held, with a total of 74 attendees. Intention to use the NLM tools was low prior to the workshops (range: 20.3–39.2%), but increased significantly immediately afterwards (p < .001 for all pre/post comparisons). The workshops resulted in increased NLM tool awareness and increased intention to use the tools during future disasters. This provides evidence of attendees’ perceptions of the usefulness of the non-web-based NLM tools in place of other web-based tools in situations without Internet access.


2006 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 812-813 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Charles Fonger ◽  
Jeanne C. Goshorn ◽  
Jack W. Snyder

Author(s):  
Andrew M Fielding ◽  
Anne Powell

Medline is the US National Library of Medicine database that is used for searching the medical biochemistry literature. The database is structured using medical subject subheadings (MeSH terms) to classify the content of references; indexing is done manually using MeSH terms as key words. Searching the database effectively means finding the maximum number of relevant references together with the minimum number of irrelevant ones. This article is aimed at explaining the limitations of Medline and suggesting some solutions to key problems. The goal is that users can improve their literature search technique by employing a structured approach. As usual, asking relevant questions before starting a search is essential.


Author(s):  
Susan Murray

In response to a growing demand from the public for health information resources, North American public libraries have provided varying levels of consumer health information (CHI) services since the 1970s. Due to the availability of funding in the US, many American public libraries have provided CHI services, although the majority of these have been as partnerships with health sciences libraries or via the “Go Local” programs. In Canada, where no specific funding has been available for CHI services, few public libraries have set up CHI services; health information has generally been provided by augmenting health collections or “virtually,” i.e., by providing links to recommended electronic resources via the library’s Web site.


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (10) ◽  
pp. 1606-1611
Author(s):  
Liz Amos ◽  
David Anderson ◽  
Stacy Brody ◽  
Anna Ripple ◽  
Betsy L Humphreys

Abstract The US National Library of Medicine regularly collects summary data on direct use of Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) resources. The summary data sources include UMLS user registration data, required annual reports submitted by registered users, and statistics on downloads and application programming interface calls. In 2019, the National Library of Medicine analyzed the summary data on 2018 UMLS use. The library also conducted a scoping review of the literature to provide additional intelligence about the research uses of UMLS as input to a planned 2020 review of UMLS production methods and priorities. 5043 direct users of UMLS data and tools downloaded 4402 copies of the UMLS resources and issued 66 130 951 UMLS application programming interface requests in 2018. The annual reports and the scoping review results agree that the primary UMLS uses are to process and interpret text and facilitate mapping or linking between terminologies. These uses align with the original stated purpose of the UMLS.


2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 370-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan M. Walk ◽  
Timothy F. Donahue ◽  
Zsolt Stockinger ◽  
M. Margaret Knudson ◽  
Miguel Cubano ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTObjective: The Haitian earthquake of January 12, 2010, was a disaster essentially unprecedented in the Western Hemisphere's recorded history. The USNS Comfort departed from Baltimore, Maryland, within 72 hours of the earthquake and arrived in Port-au-Prince harbor on January 19. During the subsequent 40 days, the ship provided one of the largest relief efforts in the US Navy's history.Methods: The data analyzed included all patients evaluated and treated by the USNS Comfort between January 19 and February 27, 2010. A medical chart with a unique identifier was created for each patient on admission. A patient database was created from these records and used for this analysis.Results: A total of 872 patients and 185 patient escorts were processed aboard the ship. Ages ranged from younger than 1 day to 89 years: 635 were adults and 237 were children. Of those admitted, 817 of the patients were admitted for longer than 24 hours; the average length of stay was 8.0 days. The need for surgery was substantial: 454 patients went to the operating room (OR) 843 times for 927 cumulative procedures. A total of 58 patients underwent amputations.Conclusions: Haiti was almost completely reliant on foreign medical teams for trauma care. Analysis of the data illustrates the challenges of triage and treatment in a humanitarian mass-casualty response. The remarkable coordination and cooperation among the Haitian Ministry of Health, nongovernmental humanitarian aid organizations, and the US military highlighted the responders' respective capabilities and demonstrated the importance of collaboration in future disaster response efforts.(Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2012;6:370–377)


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