scholarly journals Evaluation of the Long-Term Impact of a Curriculum-Integrated Medical Information Literacy Program

Author(s):  
Suzanne Maranda ◽  
Brittany Harding ◽  
Laura Kinderman

Introduction: Medical libraries have long provided educational programs to support evidence-based practice. Medical students at Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, participate in a curriculum-integrated information literacy program during the first two years of medical school. Do they retain, improve, or forget the skills? Do they continue to use the library resources during clerkship? Did they encounter barriers to prevent them from using the resources? Methods: A short survey was administered to 99 students at the end of medical school. The survey included questions about medical students’ attitudes and behaviours, their use of information resources, and their medical information literacy knowledge. Some of the knowledge questions were compared to pre- and post-tests that the same class completed in first year. Results: Fifty-three students completed the survey. The students rated their abilities very highly but there was only a weak positive relationship with the knowledge scores. Information resources were well used, both for clinical questions and to complete the mini-scholar exercises.Discussion: Medical students feel better prepared to answer clinical questions and their skills improved or remained the same for the content that could be compared between first and fourth year. Different resources were used for day-to day information needs and for the completion of the minischolar exercises. The results will inform changes to the Medical Information Literacy program at Queen’s University. The librarians will explore some of the barriers to access to ensure that future students can use information resources with more ease while away from campus.

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 128-130
Author(s):  
Brittany Richardson

A Review of: De Meulemeester, A., Buysse, H., & Peleman, R. (2018). Development and validation of an Information Literacy Self-Efficacy Scale for medical students. Journal of Information Literacy, 12(1), 27-47. Retrieved from https://ojs.lboro.ac.uk/JIL/article/view/PRA-V12-I1-2 Abstract Objective – To create and validate a scale evaluating the information literacy (IL) self-efficacy beliefs of medical students. Design – Scale development. Setting – Large, public research university in Belgium. Subjects – 1,252 medical students enrolled in a six-year medical program in the 2013-2014 academic year. Methods – Ten medical-specific IL self-efficacy questions were developed to expand a 28-item Information Literacy Self-Efficacy Scale (ILSES) (Kurbanoglu, Akkoyunlu, & Umay, 2006). Medical students in Years 1 – 5 completed the questionnaire (in English) in the first two weeks of the academic year, with students in Year 6 completing after final exams. Respondents rated their confidence with each item 0 (‘I do not feel confident at all’) to 100 (‘I feel 100% confident’). Principal Axis Factoring analysis was conducted on all 38 items to identify subscales. Responses were found suitable for factor analysis using Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity and the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure (KMO). Factors were extracted using the Kaiser-Gutmann rule with Varimax rotation applied. Cronbach’s alpha was used to test the internal consistency of each identified subscale. Following a One-way-ANOVA testing for significant differences, a Tamhane T2 post-hoc test obtained a pairwise comparison between mean responses for each student year. Main Results – Five subscales with a total of 35 items were validated for inclusion in the Information Literacy Self-Efficacy Scale for Medicine (ILSES-M) and found to have a high reliability (Chronbach’s alpha scores greater than .70). Subscales were labelled by concept, including “Evaluating and Processing Information” (11 items), “Medical Information Literacy Skills” (10 items), “Searching and Finding Information” (6 items), “Using the Library” (4 items), and “Bibliography” (4 items). The factor loading of non-medical subscales closely reflected studies validating the original ILSES (Kurbanoglu, Akkoyunla, & Umay, 2006; Usluel, 2007), suggesting consistency in varying contexts and across time. Although overall subscale means were relatively low, immediate findings among medical students at Ghent University demonstrated an increase in the IL self-efficacy of students as they advance through the 6-year medical program. Students revealed the least confidence in “Using the Library.” Conclusions – The self-efficacy of individuals in approaching IL tasks has an impact on self-motivation and lifelong learning. The authors developed the ILSES-M as part of a longitudinal study protocol appraising the IL self-efficacy beliefs of students in a six-year medical curriculum (De Meulemeester, Peleman, & Buysse, 2018). The ILSES-M “…could give a clear idea about the evolution of perceived IL and the related need for support and training” (p. 43). Further research could evaluate the scale’s impact on curriculum and, conversely, the impact of curricular changes on ILSE. Qualitative research may afford additional context for scale interpretation. The scale may also provide opportunities to assess the confidence levels of incoming students throughout time. The authors suggested further research should apply the ILSES-M in diverse cultural and curricular settings.


Author(s):  
Olga D. Oparina

Tendencies and science institualization forms in the electronic environment as well as scientific Internet infrastructure are considered in the paper. The trends of network investigations associated to library information resources, information access technologies, information literacy and information needs are shown.


2008 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 78
Author(s):  
Martha Ingrid Preddie

A review of: McKibbon, K. Ann, and Douglas B. Fridsma. “Effectiveness of Clinician-selected Electronic Information Resources for Answering Primary Care Physicians’ Information Needs.” Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association 13.6 (2006): 653-9. Objective – To determine if electronic information resources selected by primary care physicians improve their ability to answer simulated clinical questions. Design – An observational study utilizing hour-long interviews and think-aloud protocols. Setting – The offices and clinics of primary care physicians in Canada and the United States. Subjects – 25 primary care physicians of whom 4 were women, 17 were from Canada, 22 were family physicians, and 24 were board certified. Methods – Participants provided responses to 23 multiple-choice questions. Each physician then chose two questions and looked for the answers utilizing information resources of their own choice. The search processes, chosen resources and search times were noted. These were analyzed along with data on the accuracy of the answers and certainties related to the answer to each clinical question prior to the search. Main results – Twenty-three physicians sought answers to 46 simulated clinical questions. Utilizing only electronic information resources, physicians spent a mean of 13.0 (SD 5.5) minutes searching for answers to the questions, an average of 7.3 (SD 4.0) minutes for the first question and 5.8 (SD 2.2) minutes to answer the second question. On average, 1.8 resources were utilized per question. Resources that summarized information, such as the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, UpToDate and Clinical Evidence, were favored 39.2% of the time, MEDLINE (Ovid and PubMed) 35.7%, and Internet resources including Google 22.6%. Almost 50% of the search and retrieval strategies were keyword-based, while MeSH, subheadings and limiting were used less frequently. On average, before searching physicians answered 10 of 23 (43.5%) questions accurately. For questions that were searched using clinician-selected electronic resources, 18 (39.1%) of the 46 answers were accurate before searching, while 19 (42.1%) were accurate after searching. The difference of one correct answer was due to the answers from 5 (10.9%) questions changing from correct to incorrect, while the answers to 6 questions (13.0%) changed from incorrect to correct. The ability to provide correct answers differed among the various resources. Google and Cochrane provided the correct answers about 50% of the time while PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE, UpToDate, Ovid Evidence Based Medicine Reviews and InfoPOEMs were more likely to be associated with incorrect answers. Physicians also seemed unable to determine when they needed to search for information in order to make an accurate decision. Conclusion – Clinician-selected electronic information resources did not guarantee accuracy in the answers provided to simulated clinical questions. At times the use of these resources caused physicians to change self-determined correct answers to incorrect ones. The authors state that this was possibly due to factors such as poor choice of resources, ineffective search strategies, time constraints and automation bias. Library and information practitioners have an important role to play in identifying and advocating for appropriate information resources to be integrated into the electronic medical record systems provided by health care institutions to ensure evidence based health care delivery.


2016 ◽  
pp. 145-164
Author(s):  
Misa Mi ◽  
Jill E. Stefaniak

This case demonstrates how problem-based learning (PBL) was used as a teaching method to help medical students integrate their knowledge of basic sciences with a clinical application at a medical school. PBL promotes self-directed, problem-solving, and lifelong learning. In the PBL context, students sought out a variety of resources to tackle their learning issues and help them arrive at a solution to a patient problem. The existing strategy for curating resources was not aligned with the type of thinking and activities in the PBL process. Therefore, a knowledge management system was developed to provide an online knowledge base of medical information resources and tools easily accessible at the point of students' needs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. A873-A874
Author(s):  
Debbie W Chen ◽  
David Reyes-Gastelum ◽  
Sarah T Hawley ◽  
Lauren P Wallner ◽  
Ann S Hamilton ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Despite thyroid cancer being the second most common cancer in Hispanic women, little is known about access to and utilization of medical information resources by Hispanic women with thyroid cancer. Methods: Hispanic women who had diagnoses of thyroid cancer reported to the Los Angeles Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) registry in 2014-2015, and who had previously completed our thyroid cancer survey in 2017-2018, were offered follow-up surveys in both English and Spanish (N=273; 80% response rate). Acculturation, which is the process by which individuals adopt the language, values, attitudes, and behaviors of a different culture, was assessed with the Short Acculturation Scale for Hispanics (SASH). Health literacy was assessed with the validated single-item question of “How confident are you filling out medical forms by yourself?” with response categories based on a five-point Likert scale from “extremely” to “not at all”. Patients were also asked about their internet access, information resources used, and ability to access medical information about thyroid cancer in their preferred language. We generated descriptive statistics for all categorical variables and used Rao-Scott adjusted chi-square tests to test for a relationship between level of acculturation and the following variables: health literacy, internet access, information resources used, and ability to access information. Results: Participants’ median age at diagnosis was 47 years (range 20-79); 49% were low-acculturated, 25% had low health literacy, and 14% reported no internet access at home. Low-acculturated Hispanic women reported using information resources in both English and Spanish whereas high-acculturated women used resources in English only. Hispanic women were more likely to report the ability to access medical information about thyroid cancer all of the time if they preferred information in English compared to if they preferred it in Spanish (89% vs 37%, P<0.001). Low-acculturated (vs high-acculturated) Hispanic women were more likely to have low health literacy (47% vs 5%, P<0.001) and to report use of in-person support groups (42% vs 23%, P=0.006). Depending on their level of acculturation, Hispanic women accessed the internet differently (P<0.001) such that low-acculturated women were more likely to use only a smartphone (34% vs 14%) or have no internet access (26% vs 1%), and less likely to use both a smartphone and home computer/tablet (28% vs 58%) or use only a home computer/tablet (10% vs 21%). Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate that low-acculturated Hispanic women with thyroid cancer have greater unmet information needs and access information differently compared to high-acculturated Hispanic women. This study emphasizes the importance of a patient-focused tailored approach to providing medical information to this understudied population.


Author(s):  
Natalie Tagge

Background: While the term “information literacy” is not often used, the skills associated with that concept are now central to the mission and accreditation process of medical schools. The simultaneous emphasis on critical thinking skills, knowledge acquisition, active learning, and development and acceptance of technology perfectly positions libraries to be central to and integrated into the curriculum.Case Presentation: This case study discusses how one medical school and health sciences library leveraged accreditation to develop a sustainable and efficient flipped classroom model for teaching information literacy skills to first-year medical students. The model provides first-year medical students with the opportunity to learn information literacy skills, critical thinking skills, and teamwork, and then practice these skills throughout the pre-clerkship years.Conclusions: The curriculum was deemed a success and will be included in next year’s first-year curriculum. Faculty have reported substantial improvements in the information sources that first-year medical students are using in subsequent clinical reasoning conferences and in other parts of the curriculum. The effectiveness of the curriculum model was assessed using a rubric.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 43-69
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Borawska-Kalbarczyk

Nowadays, the Internet has become one of the fundamental elements of functioning in society, also for pupils and students. Using the Internet requires specific skills related to obtaining and processing information. These are known as information literacy. They imply not only the ability to find the necessary information, but also to select reliable information that will meet the information needs of an individual. The article presents the results of research aimed at analyzing the process of using network information resources in the opinion of students. The results of the research made it possible to initially recognize and assess selected aspects of information competences in the studied group. Despite the perceived benefits and not imagining functioning without the Internet, the students showed a quite critical attitude in assessing the reliability of information obtained from the Internet.


Author(s):  
Misa Mi ◽  
Jill E. Stefaniak

This case demonstrates how problem-based learning (PBL) was used as a teaching method to help medical students integrate their knowledge of basic sciences with a clinical application at a medical school. PBL promotes self-directed, problem-solving, and lifelong learning. In the PBL context, students sought out a variety of resources to tackle their learning issues and help them arrive at a solution to a patient problem. The existing strategy for curating resources was not aligned with the type of thinking and activities in the PBL process. Therefore, a knowledge management system was developed to provide an online knowledge base of medical information resources and tools easily accessible at the point of students' needs.


1966 ◽  
Vol 05 (03) ◽  
pp. 142-146
Author(s):  
A. Kent ◽  
P. J. Vinken

A joint center has been established by the University of Pittsburgh and the Excerpta Medica Foundation. The basic objective of the Center is to seek ways in which the health sciences community may achieve increasingly convenient and economical access to scientific findings. The research center will make use of facilities and resources of both participating institutions. Cooperating from the University of Pittsburgh will be the School of Medicine, the Computation and Data Processing Center, and the Knowledge Availability Systems (KAS) Center. The KAS Center is an interdisciplinary organization engaging in research, operations, and teaching in the information sciences.Excerpta Medica Foundation, which is the largest international medical abstracting service in the world, with offices in Amsterdam, New York, London, Milan, Tokyo and Buenos Aires, will draw on its permanent medical staff of 54 specialists in charge of the 35 abstracting journals and other reference works prepared and published by the Foundation, the 700 eminent clinicians and researchers represented on its International Editorial Boards, and the 6,000 physicians who participate in its abstracting programs throughout the world. Excerpta Medica will also make available to the Center its long experience in the field, as well as its extensive resources of medical information accumulated during the Foundation’s twenty years of existence. These consist of over 1,300,000 English-language _abstract of the world’s biomedical literature, indexes to its abstracting journals, and the microfilm library in which complete original texts of all the 3,000 primary biomedical journals, monitored by Excerpta Medica in Amsterdam are stored since 1960.The objectives of the program of the combined Center include: (1) establishing a firm base of user relevance data; (2) developing improved vocabulary control mechanisms; (3) developing means of determining confidence limits of vocabulary control mechanisms in terms of user relevance data; 4. developing and field testing of new or improved media for providing medical literature to users; 5. developing methods for determining the relationship between learning and relevance in medical information storage and retrieval systems’; and (6) exploring automatic methods for retrospective searching of the specialized indexes of Excerpta Medica.The priority projects to be undertaken by the Center are (1) the investigation of the information needs of medical scientists, and (2) the development of a highly detailed Master List of Biomedical Indexing Terms. Excerpta Medica has already been at work on the latter project for several years.


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