MLA 2007 NLM update

NLM Strategic Plan Handed out print copies at meeting Also available online: Plan covers main goals

GOAL 1 Seamless, uninterrupted access to expanding collections of biomedical data, medical knowledge, and health information

GOAL 1 Recommendations Evaluate interactive publications as a possible means to enhance learning, comprehension, and sharing of research results Establish a Disaster Information Management Research Center at NLM to make a strong commitment to disaster remediation

GOAL 2 Trusted information services that promote health literacy and the reduction of health disparities worldwide

GOAL 2 Recommendations Work selectively in developing countries that represent special outreach opportunities, such as improving access to electronic information resources, enhancing local journal publications of high quality, and developing a trained librarian and IT workforce

GOAL 2 Recommendations Support research on the application of cognitive and cultural models to facilitate information transfer and trust building and develop new methodologies to evaluate impact on patient care and health outcomes

GOAL 3 Integrated biomedical, clinical, and public health information systems that promote scientific discovery and speed the translation of research into practice

GOAL 3 Recommendations Develop linked databases for discovering relationships between clinical data, genetic information, and environmental factors Promote development of Next Generation electronic health records to facilitate patient-centric care, clinical research, and public health

GOAL 4 A strong and diverse workforce for biomedical informatics research, systems developments, and innovative service delivery

GOAL 4 Recommendations Develop an expanded and diverse workforce through enhanced visibility of biomedical informatics and library science for K-12 and college students Support training programs that prepare librarians to meet emerging needs for specialized information services

New Resource New Web Resource for Accessing Information on Genetic Diseases Created by NCBI and Genetic Alliance It is designed to serve the needs of a broad spectrum of users, ranging from those who are just beginning to learn about a disorder to those who understand complex scientific information, including those who want to track emerging information over time

New Resource Site available at: It is called Disease InfoSearch

What can one find using Disease InfoSearch? Disease descriptions from NCBI's Genes & Disease online book Disease and genetic information from Genetics Home Reference NLM MedlinePlus Web pages A guide to genetic testing, and directories of geneticists and gene testing laboratories Clinical trials that may be available to those with genetic diseases Medical dictionaries and encyclopedias Primers and tutorials on DNA, genetics, genome mapping, and other scientific subjects The latest research published in scientific journals, via PubMed and PubMed Central Technical information about the genes, DNA sequences, chromosomes and protein structures associated with genetic diseases

Another New Resource Radiation Event Medical Management (REMM) Created by NLM’s Specialized Information Services (SIS) with US Dept. of Health & Human Services Topics such as nuclear reactor accidents, dirty bombs, transportation accidents

REMM Goals Provide guidance for health care providers, primarily physicians, about clinical diagnosis and treatment during mass casualty radiological/nuclear (rad/nuc) events Provide just-in-time, evidence-based, usable information with sufficient background and context to make complex issues understandable to those without formal radiation medicine expertise Provide web-based information that is also downloadable in advance, so that it would be available during an event if the internet is not accessible

New Resource InfoSIDAwww.aidsinfo.nih.gov/infoSIDA InfoSIDA enables Spanish-speaking visitors to access many of the materials provided by AIDSinfo without having to navigate through the English site. The AIDSinfo Web site, a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services project, offers the latest federally approved information on HIV/AIDS clinical research, treatment and prevention, and medical practice guidelines.

Statistics Six new states have Go Local proposals accepted. 29% of the country covered by Go Local 16 million PubMed hits per day 2.5 million MedlinePlus hits per day

MLA 2007 Poster

Analysis of the Reporting of Search Strategies in Cochrane Systematic Reviews Plaut D, McGraw K, Anderson M, Nguyen L, Welik K, Yoshii A

Background Cochrane systematic reviews = high quality evidence used to guide clinical decisions USC has access through Ovid EBM Reviews.

Background The Cochrane Handbook provides instructions for documenting the search strategy for a systematic review, listing the elements of the search strategy that should be included in the description. The purpose of detailed documentation of the search is to ensure that the process is replicable.

Objective To analyze recently published Cochrane reviews to determine whether the guidelines for describing search strategies are being followed.

Why Search Strategy Reporting is important We need high quality published search strategies to use as models when we teach professionals and students how to conduct systematic review searches.

Methods 7 elements required for inclusion in the search method description from the handbook Databases searched Name of host Date search was run Years covered by search Complete search strategy One or two sentence summary of the search strategy Language restrictions

Methods Downloaded titles of new Cochrane reviews for 1 st quarter 2006 (83 reviews) Randomized titles using a spreadsheet random number generator and divided the titles into a set for each author Two authors together analyzed an initial 30 reviews to establish evaluation guidelines

Methods Initial analysis of 30 reviews revealed that those relying solely on Specialized Registers should meet different criteria, so those 13 reviews were eliminated. Authors worked individually and then each sent their evaluation to one other author for review. Questions concerning evaluating the inclusion of items in specific reviews were presented to the entire group of authors for resolution.

Results Percentage of reviews with each element Database Name – 100% Database Host – 20% Date of Search – 13% Years covered – 95% Search strategy – 91% Search summary – 29% No Language restriction – 71%

Results None of the Cochrane reviews analyzed contained all seven search description elements (n=56, one author was unable to complete the analysis) All reviews listed the databases searched. Most reviews included the years covered by searches and detailed search strategy.

Results A substantial number of reviews failed to include a statement about language restriction. The elements most frequently missing were: Database host Date the search was run One or two sentence summary of the search

Discussion It is clear that authors are not following Cochrane Handbook guidelines for documenting a search strategy. The most frequently missed element – database host – is a crucial piece of information, especially if one needs to replicate a search.

Discussion A text summary of the search strategy is important to understanding the overall search strategy, particularly for beginning searchers.

Conclusion/Recommendations The Cochrane guidelines for reporting search strategies are not being consistently followed. The ability to replicate the searches and assess the quality of searches in Cochrane reviews is hampered by incomplete search descriptions.

Conclusion/Recommendations Adding a checklist or a search strategy description template in the Cochrane Handbook might improve the reporting of search results.