bims-librar Biomed News
on Biomedical librarianship
Issue of 2019–09–29
eight papers selected by
Thomas Krichel, Open Library Society
  1. Quality, Trustworthiness, Readability, and Accuracy of Medical Information Regarding Common Pediatric Emergency Medicine-Related Complaints on the Web.
  2. Information Retrieval in Food Science Research II: Accounting for Relevance When Evaluating Database Performance.
  3. Systematic Literature Review on the Spread of Health-related Misinformation on Social Media.
  4. The impact of cancer information online on cancer fatalism: education and eHealth literacy as moderators.
  5. Twenty percent of secondary publications of randomized controlled trials of drugs did not provide new results relative to the primary publication.
  6. How Perfectionism and Eating Disorder Symptoms Contribute to Searching Weight-Loss Information on the Internet?
  7. Scientific sinkhole: The pernicious price of formatting.
  8. La puissance des images et vidéos cliniques de nos jours.
  1. J Emerg Med. 2019 Sep 24. pii: S0736-4679(19)30560-8. [Epub ahead of print]
    Quality, Trustworthiness, Readability, and Accuracy of Medical Information Regarding Common Pediatric Emergency Medicine-Related Complaints on the Web.
    Steven G Rothrock, Ava N Rothrock, Sarah B Swetland, Maria Pagane, Shira A Isaak, Jake Romney, Valeria Chavez, Silvio H Chavez.
       BACKGROUND: The Internet is a universal source of information for parents of children with acute complaints.
    OBJECTIVES: We sought to analyze information directed at parents regarding common acute pediatric complaints.
    METHODS: Authors searched three search engines for four complaints (child + fever, vomiting, cough, stomach pain), assessing the first 20 results for each query. Readability was evaluated using: Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, Gunning Fog, Simple Measure of Gobbledygook, and the Coleman-Liau Index. Two reviewers independently evaluated Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Benchmark Criteria and National Library of Medicine (NLM) Trustworthy scores. Two physicians (emergency medicine/EM, pediatric EM) analyzed text accuracy (number correct divided by total number of facts). Disagreements were settled by a third physician. Accuracy was defined as ≥ 95% correct, readability as an 8th-grade reading level, high quality as at least three JAMA criteria, and trustworthiness as an NLM score ≥ 3. Accurate and inaccurate websites were compared using chi-squared analysis and Mann-Whitney U test.
    RESULTS: Eighty-seven websites (60%) were accurate (k = 0.94). Sixty (42%) of 144 evaluable websites were readable, 38 (26%) had high-quality JAMA criteria (kappa/k = 0.68), and 44 (31%) had reliable NLM trustworthy scores (k = 0.66). Accurate websites were more frequently published by professional medical organizations (hospitals, academic societies, governments) compared with inaccurate websites (63% vs. 33%, p < 0.01). There was no association between accuracy and physician authorship, search rank, quality, trustworthiness, or readability.
    CONCLUSION: Many studied websites had inadequate accuracy, quality, trustworthiness, and readability. Measures should be taken to improve web-based information related to acute pediatric complaints.
    Keywords:  abdomen pain; cough; fever; internet; parent; pediatric; vomiting
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jemermed.2019.06.043
  2. J Food Sci. 2019 Sep 24.
    Information Retrieval in Food Science Research II: Accounting for Relevance When Evaluating Database Performance.
    Tuba Karaarslan Urhan, Hannah Gascho Rempel, Lisbeth Meunier-Goddik, Michael H Penner.
      The impetus for this study is the limited amount of information on performance characteristics of food science-encompassing online bibliographic databases. Database usage is an important element in modern research because a comprehensive understanding of current knowledge is essential for effective, unbiased hypothesis formulation and testing. Six databases commonly recommended by academic libraries for information retrieval in the food sciences (Academic Search Premier [ASP], Agricultural Online Access [AGRICOLA], CAB Direct, Food Science and Technology Abstracts [FSTA], PubMed, and Web of Science [WoS]) were compared in a case study based on the research topic "in vitro bile acid binding properties of dietary lignin." A complex string of search terms was used for citation retrieval, and predetermined inclusion/exclusion criteria were used to determine the relevancy of retrieved articles. Searching WoS and CAB Direct returned the greatest number of relevant articles, followed closely by FSTA, PubMed, and AGRICOLA. FSTA and AGRICOLA returned the highest ratios of relevant-to-irrelevant articles, followed closely by CAB Direct. None of the databases, when used alone, recovered all of the relevant articles identified in the study; WoS indexed the highest percentage of relevant articles identified (WoS = 10; total = 19). WoS also had the highest number of relevant articles that were unique to any one database. The thoroughness of searching the complete group of databases was tested by comparison of retrieved citations with those found in relevant review articles, revealing the need for testing overall inclusivity. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Comprehensive online information retrieval is the most efficient means of accessing current knowledge. Awareness of current knowledge is essential for effective, unbiased decision making in private sector and academic/government-based research endeavors. Thus, online database usage is an essential element of modern food science research. This paper provides tangible examples of the performance characteristics of online bibliographic databases commonly recommended for information retrieval in the food sciences. The paper is written so as to aid the reader in making decisions with respect to database usage for the recovery of topic-relevant peer-reviewed articles germane to their area of research.
    Keywords:  databases; food sciences; information retrieval; nutrition; relevance
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1111/1750-3841.14769
  3. Soc Sci Med. 2019 Sep 18. pii: S0277-9536(19)30546-5. [Epub ahead of print]240 112552
    Systematic Literature Review on the Spread of Health-related Misinformation on Social Media.
    Yuxi Wang, Martin McKee, Aleksandra Torbica, David Stuckler.
      Contemporary commentators describe the current period as "an era of fake news" in which misinformation, generated intentionally or unintentionally, spreads rapidly. Although affecting all areas of life, it poses particular problems in the health arena, where it can delay or prevent effective care, in some cases threatening the lives of individuals. While examples of the rapid spread of misinformation date back to the earliest days of scientific medicine, the internet, by allowing instantaneous communication and powerful amplification has brought about a quantum change. In democracies where ideas compete in the marketplace for attention, accurate scientific information, which may be difficult to comprehend and even dull, is easily crowded out by sensationalized news. In order to uncover the current evidence and better understand the mechanism of misinformation spread, we report a systematic review of the nature and potential drivers of health-related misinformation. We searched PubMed, Cochrane, Web of Science, Scopus and Google databases to identify relevant methodological and empirical articles published between 2012 and 2018. A total of 57 articles were included for full-text analysis. Overall, we observe an increasing trend in published articles on health-related misinformation and the role of social media in its propagation. The most extensively studied topics involving misinformation relate to vaccination, Ebola and Zika Virus, although others, such as nutrition, cancer, fluoridation of water and smoking also featured. Studies adopted theoretical frameworks from psychology and network science, while co-citation analysis revealed potential for greater collaboration across fields. Most studies employed content analysis, social network analysis or experiments, drawing on disparate disciplinary paradigms. Future research should examine susceptibility of different sociodemographic groups to misinformation and understand the role of belief systems on the intention to spread misinformation. Further interdisciplinary research is also warranted to identify effective and tailored interventions to counter the spread of health-related misinformation online.
    Keywords:  Fake news; Health; Misinformation; Social media
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112552
  4. Health Educ Res. 2019 Sep 24. pii: cyz027. [Epub ahead of print]
    The impact of cancer information online on cancer fatalism: education and eHealth literacy as moderators.
    Jae Eun Chung, Chul-Joo Lee.
      One critical yet understudied concept associated with cancer information is cancer fatalism, i.e. deterministic thoughts about the cause of cancer, the inability to prevent it and the unavoidability of death upon diagnosis. The aim of this study is to understand how information seeking about cancer online influences cancer fatalism and whether and to what extent education and eHealth literacy moderate the relationship between them. Findings from an online survey of a nationally representative sample in the United States (N = 578) showed differential impacts of using the internet to search for information about cancer among the more and the less educated. For the less educated, more exposure to information about cancer via medical and health websites led to an increased level of cancer fatalism, whereas among the more educated, greater exposure lowered cancer fatalism. These differences were explained by the fact that the more educated were equipped with a higher level of eHealth literacy skills than the less educated. Findings show that only when one has necessary skills to apply digital resources can those resources help mitigate cancer fatalism. We suggest the need to enhance eHealth literacy skills among the less educated to reduce cancer fatalism.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1093/her/cyz027
  5. J Clin Epidemiol. 2019 Sep 20. pii: S0895-4356(19)30272-0. [Epub ahead of print]
    Twenty percent of secondary publications of randomized controlled trials of drugs did not provide new results relative to the primary publication.
    Cindy Lai, Emilie Sbidian, Bruno Giraudeau, Laurence Le Cleach.
       OBJECTIVE: To estimate the proportion of secondary publications of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that provide new results relative to the primary publication.
    STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: We searched for RCTs published in 2014 in the five medical journals with the highest impact factors. Secondary publications for each primary publication were then identified by their registration number. The main outcome measure was the proportion of secondary publications providing results already reported in the primary publication and/or non-prespecified analyses and/or a meta-analysis pooling results of studies not identified by systematic review.
    RESULTS: A total of 144 primary publications were identified; 94 (65%) had at least one secondary publication within 30 months after a primary publication. Of the secondary publications, 20% reported only results present in the primary publication, and 35% reported results not prespecified or pooled analyses not based on a systematic review. Factors associated with having at least one secondary publication were a large number of randomized trial participants (odds ratio [95% confidence interval]: 3.2 [1.1-9.3] for trials with >1000 vs ≤500 participants), investigating a biologic product (4.8 [1.4‒16.3] vs a non-biologic product) and cardiologic field vs. other fields (7.6 [1.46-39.8]).
    CONCLUSION: Most drug RCTs with results published in high-impact-factor journals had secondary publications. More than half of these secondary publications provided results already reported in the primary publication or results of non-prespecified analyses.
    Keywords:  Medical writing; Multiplicity; Outcome; Randomized Controlled trial; Secondary findings; Secondary publications
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2019.09.012
  6. Medicina (Kaunas). 2019 Sep 23. pii: E621. [Epub ahead of print]55(10):
    How Perfectionism and Eating Disorder Symptoms Contribute to Searching Weight-Loss Information on the Internet?
    Katarina Prnjak, Ivan Jukic, Anita Lauri Korajlija.
      Background and Objectives: Eating disorder (ED) symptoms are a growing problem and modern technologies introduced a new and unexplored potential risk factor for vulnerable individuals. It is fairly common for women to use the Internet in order to find information about various weight-loss methods, but it was further questioned whether perfectionism and eating disorder symptomatology could be linked to this behavior. Materials and Methods: Participants were 228 women (Mean age = 30.5; SD = 9.43) recruited via social media, who provided responses on measures of perfectionism, eating disorder symptoms, and a short check-list measuring the frequency of online searching about five topics (food, diet, exercise, body appearance, and eating disorders). Results: Hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that the BMI and Discrepancy subscale of APS-R significantly predicted online searching, along with eating disorder symptomatology. Moreover, mediation analyses resulted in a significant indirect effect, but not a direct effect, indicating that eating disorder symptomatology fully mediated the relationship between BMI and online searching, as well as between maladaptive perfectionism and online searching. Conclusion: These findings shed light on a high BMI and maladaptive perfectionism as potential risk factors for eating disorder-related behavior on the Internet. More attention to online-seeking behavior among women symptomatic of ED is warranted, and websites containing such topics should include information about professional help for eating disorder-symptomatic individuals.
    Keywords:  body mass index; diet; health; online searching; women
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina55100621
  7. PLoS One. 2019 ;14(9): e0223116
    Scientific sinkhole: The pernicious price of formatting.
    Allana G LeBlanc, Joel D Barnes, Travis J Saunders, Mark S Tremblay, Jean-Philippe Chaput.
       OBJECTIVE: To conduct a time-cost analysis of formatting in scientific publishing.
    DESIGN: International, cross-sectional study (one-time survey).
    SETTING: Internet-based self-report survey, live between September 2018 and January 2019.
    PARTICIPANTS: Anyone working in research, science, or academia and who submitted at least one peer-reviewed manuscript for consideration for publication in 2017. Completed surveys were available for 372 participants from 41 countries (60% of respondents were from Canada).
    MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Time (hours) and cost (wage per hour x time) associated with formatting a research paper for publication in a peer-reviewed academic journal.
    RESULTS: The median annual income category was US$61,000-80,999, and the median number of publications formatted per year was four. Manuscripts required a median of two attempts before they were accepted for publication. The median formatting time was 14 hours per manuscript, or 52 hours per person, per year. This resulted in a median calculated cost of US$477 per manuscript or US$1,908 per person, per year.
    CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first study to analyze the cost of manuscript formatting in scientific publishing. Our results suggest that scientific formatting represents a loss of 52 hours, costing the equivalent of US$1,908 per researcher per year. These results identify the hidden and pernicious price associated with scientific publishing and provide evidence to advocate for the elimination of strict formatting guidelines, at least prior to acceptance.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0223116
  8. J Obstet Gynaecol Can. 2019 Oct;pii: S1701-2163(19)30743-1. [Epub ahead of print]41(10): 1403
    La puissance des images et vidéos cliniques de nos jours.
    Togas Tulandi.
      
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jogc.2019.08.017
This page is being maintained by Thomas Krichel. It was last updated on 2024‒11‒22 at 4:18.