bims-librar Biomed News
on Biomedical librarianship
Issue of 2021–11–14
38 papers selected by
Thomas Krichel, Open Library Society
  1. Hospital Librarians Meet the Challenges of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
  2. The Never-Ending Evolutionary Saga of Assessing and Demonstrating the Value of Information Services in a Biomedical Library.
  3. Improving peer review of systematic reviews by involving librarians and information specialists: protocol for a randomized controlled trial.
  4. Defining GME Librarianship: Creating and Developing a New Graduate Medical Education Library Program and Librarian Position.
  5. Applying machine classifiers to update searches: analysis from two case studies.
  6. Children's Librarians' and Library Associates' Use of Music and Perceptions on Music in Library Programming: An Initial Exploration.
  7. Irreproducibility in searches of scientific literature: A comparative analysis.
  8. Combatting COVID-19 Information Overload.
  9. HIVinfo and ClinicalInfo.
  10. Creating a YouTube-Style Channel to Provide Information Literacy Instruction Videos for Undergraduate Nursing.
  11. Supporting Consensus Statements: Considerations and Recommendations for a Systematic Review Service.
  12. The Human Disease Ontology 2022 update.
  13. CEBS update: curated toxicology database with enhanced tools for data integration.
  14. Summaries of harms in systematic reviews are unreliable Paper 1: An introduction to research on harms.
  15. Summaries of harms in systematic reviews are unreliable Paper 2: Methods used to assess harms are neglected in systematic reviews of gabapentin.
  16. Summaries of harms in systematic reviews are unreliable Paper 3: Given the same data sources, systematic reviews of gabapentin have different results for harms.
  17. The Drug Manufacturer as a Drug Information Resource.
  18. mapMECFS: a portal to enhance data discovery across biological disciplines and collaborative sites.
  19. Seeking Mental Health Support Among College Students in Video-Based Social Media: Content and Statistical Analysis of YouTube Videos.
  20. Quality Evaluation of Consumer Health Information Websites Found on Google Using DISCERN, CRAAP, and HONcode.
  21. Assessment of YouTube videos as an information resource for keratoconus patients.
  22. Medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw: A cross-sectional survey assessing the quality of information on the Internet.
  23. Evaluation of the Quality of Online Information on Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss.
  24. What's out there for parents? A systematic review of online information about prenatal microarray and exome sequencing.
  25. YouTube as a source of information on adult orthodontics: a video analysis study.
  26. Quality and reliability of web-based information regarding restorative treatment in pediatric patients.
  27. YouTube videos in Japanese as a source of information on nocturnal enuresis: a content-quality and reliability analysis.
  28. Consulting "Dr. YouTube": A content analysis of YouTube videos related to hidradenitis suppurativa treatments.
  29. Analysis of videos about vesicoureteral reflux on YouTube.
  30. Assessing information on YouTube™ as a quality source for the treatment of varicoceles.
  31. Fibromyalgia in social media: content and quality of the information analysis of videos on the YouTube platform.
  32. Dengue-Related Information Needs and Information-Seeking Behavior in Pakistan.
  33. Measuring online health-seeking behaviour: Construction and initial validation of a new scale.
  34. Patient-Provider Communication and Online Health Information Seeking among a Sample of US Older Adults.
  35. Information needs and preferences among rural cancer survivors in Queensland, Australia: a qualitative examination.
  36. Health Information Needs of Young Chinese People Based on an Online Health Community: Topic and Statistical Analysis.
  37. Results of an Informal Needs Assessment Survey.
  38. From the Literature.
  1. Med Ref Serv Q. 2021 Oct-Dec;40(4):40(4): 408-420
    Hospital Librarians Meet the Challenges of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
    Marilyn Gerette Teolis, Edward J Poletti, Jeannine Creazzo, Faith N Steele, Dave Castelli, John Mokonyama.
      When the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in the United States in early 2020, it caused an information explosion in the health science literature. Researchers wanted to share their results quickly, so they utilized sources that were not indexed in conventional databases. Hospital librarians stepped up to meet the information and public health challenges of the pandemic. They developed alternate strategies to provide services and resources remotely at a time when their physical libraries were closed to comply with the need for social distancing and compliance with public health recommendations.
    Keywords:  Bibliographic databases; COVID-19; coronavirus; hospital libraries; information services; teleworking
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/02763869.2021.1987805
  2. Med Ref Serv Q. 2021 Oct-Dec;40(4):40(4): 369-382
    The Never-Ending Evolutionary Saga of Assessing and Demonstrating the Value of Information Services in a Biomedical Library.
    Philip Walker, Heather Laferriere, Rachel L Walden, Camille Ivey.
      Demonstrating added value can be very challenging, yet it is becoming important in academic libraries. The current literature primarily discusses citation analysis and usage reports to demonstrate return on investment for collections or impact on scholarly activity. However, value is not only in our collections but also in the library staff who support the institutional mission. Vanderbilt University's Annette and Irwin Eskind Family Biomedical Library and Learning Center has been experimenting with several methods to supplement the collections data with services performed by the staff. This article discusses the project's four phases as part of the goal to strategically demonstrate the biomedical library's added value to the university and medical center.
    Keywords:  Academic libraries; added value; assessment; biomedical libraries; collaboration; communications; engagement; health sciences libraries; impact; information services; partnerships
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/02763869.2021.1987775
  3. Trials. 2021 Nov 11. 22(1): 791
    Improving peer review of systematic reviews by involving librarians and information specialists: protocol for a randomized controlled trial.
    Melissa L Rethlefsen, Sara Schroter, Lex M Bouter, David Moher, Ana Patricia Ayala, Jamie J Kirkham, Maurice P Zeegers.
       BACKGROUND: Problems continue to exist with the reporting quality and risk of bias in search methods and strategies in systematic reviews and related review types. Peer reviewers who are not familiar with what is required to transparently and fully report a search may not be prepared to review the search components of systematic reviews, nor may they know what is likely to introduce bias into a search. Librarians and information specialists, who have expertise in searching, may offer specialized knowledge that would help improve systematic review search reporting and lessen risk of bias, but they are underutilized as methodological peer reviewers.
    METHODS: This study will evaluate the effect of adding librarians and information specialists as methodological peer reviewers on the quality of search reporting and risk of bias in systematic review searches. The study will be a pragmatic randomized controlled trial using 150 systematic review manuscripts submitted to BMJ and BMJ Open as the unit of randomization. Manuscripts that report on completed systematic reviews and related review types and have been sent for peer review are eligible. For each manuscript randomized to the intervention, a librarian/information specialist will be invited as an additional peer reviewer using standard practices for each journal. First revision manuscripts will be assessed in duplicate for reporting quality and risk of bias, using adherence to 4 items from PRISMA-S and assessors' judgements on 4 signaling questions from ROBIS Domain 2, respectively. Identifying information from the manuscripts will be removed prior to assessment.
    DISCUSSION: The primary outcomes for this study are quality of reporting as indicated by differences in the proportion of adequately reported searches in first revision manuscripts between intervention and control groups and risk of bias as indicated by differences in the proportions of first revision manuscripts with high, low, and unclear bias. If the intervention demonstrates an effect on search reporting or bias, this may indicate a need for journal editors to work with librarians and information specialists as methodological peer reviewers.
    TRIAL REGISTRATION: Open Science Framework. Registered on June 17, 2021, at https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/W4CK2 .
    Keywords:  Librarians and information specialists; Literature searching; Peer review; Systematic reviews
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-021-05738-z
  4. Med Ref Serv Q. 2021 Oct-Dec;40(4):40(4): 355-368
    Defining GME Librarianship: Creating and Developing a New Graduate Medical Education Library Program and Librarian Position.
    Laura A Murray, Candice J Kunkle.
      An academic research institution and a corporate hospital system formed a new graduate medical education (GME) consortium. The consortium objectives were to increase the scholarly activity of the residents and fellows in a national hospital system's GME residency program to match the requirements set forth by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. A GME librarian position was created specifically to serve the GME research programs at Florida area hospitals to help with this objective. This paper describes the experience, activities, and lessons learned from the creation of an entirely new GME library program and librarian position for a nine-hospital region in Florida.
    Keywords:  Faculty; GME; GME librarianship; fellow; graduate medical education; health science; librarianship; library programs; resident
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/02763869.2021.1987773
  5. Res Synth Methods. 2021 Nov 07.
    Applying machine classifiers to update searches: analysis from two case studies.
    C Stansfield, G Stokes, J Thomas.
      Manual screening of citation records could be reduced by using machine classifiers to remove records of very low relevance. This seems particularly feasible for update searches, where a machine classifier can be trained from past screening decisions. However, feasibility is unclear for broad topics. To evaluate the performance and implementation of machine classifiers for update searches of public health research. Two case studies. The first study evaluates the impact of using different sets of training data on classifier performance, comparing recall and screening reduction with a manual screening 'gold standard'. The second study uses screening decisions from a review to train a classifier that is applied to rank the update search results. A stopping threshold was applied in the absence of a gold standard. Time spent screening titles and abstracts of different relevancy-ranked records was measured. Results: Study one: Classifier performance varies according to the training data used; all custom-built classifiers had a recall above 93% at the same threshold, achieving screening reductions between 41% and 74%. Study two: applying a classifier provided a solution for tackling a large volume of search results from the update search, and screening volume was reduced by 61%. A tentative estimate indicates over 25 hours screening time was saved. Custom-built machine classifiers are feasible for reducing screening workload from update searches across a range of public health interventions, with some limitation on recall. Key considerations include selecting a training dataset, agreeing stopping thresholds and processes to ensure smooth workflows. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
    Keywords:  Information retrieval; Supervised machine learning; Systematic Reviews as Topic; Update search
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1002/jrsm.1537
  6. Early Child Educ J. 2021 Oct 29. 1-13
    Children's Librarians' and Library Associates' Use of Music and Perceptions on Music in Library Programming: An Initial Exploration.
    Lisa Huisman Koops, Lauren E Hodgson, Madison E Wise.
      Literacy is a common goal of early childhood programs in libraries. Through the "Every Child Ready to Read" initiative of the American Library Association, librarians emphasize educating caregivers and parents to work with their children on early literacy skills (Every Child Ready to Read, n.d.).This program identifies singing as one of five core practices in early childhood library literacy programming. Based on this priority on singing in early childhood library programming, there seems to be a valuing of music by library organizers. However, little is known about the musical background and preparation of librarians and library associates who lead storytimes. This instrumental case study of children's librarians and library associates' documented the use of music by participants in library storytime programming (n = 13) as well as their perceptions about music. The researchers employed qualitative data analysis procedures to arrive at four themes, which encompassed the participants' positive perceptions of the role of music in children's lives; participants' passion for early literacy; their emphasis on family mentoring; and the diverse music backgrounds that led to diverse approaches of incorporating music into library programming. In our discussion we note the similarities between our population and early childhood generalist teachers who use music in their classrooms, suggesting potential application of prior research. We conclude with implications for librarians and library associates, early childhood teachers, and the early childhood music community.
    Keywords:  Children's librarians; Early childhood music; Early literacy; Family mentoring; Music; Storytime
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-021-01279-x
  7. Ecol Evol. 2021 Nov;11(21): 14658-14668
    Irreproducibility in searches of scientific literature: A comparative analysis.
    Gábor Pozsgai, Gábor L Lövei, Liette Vasseur, Geoff Gurr, Péter Batáry, János Korponai, Nick A Littlewood, Jian Liu, Arnold Móra, John Obrycki, Olivia Reynolds, Jenni A Stockan, Heather VanVolkenburg, Jie Zhang, Wenwu Zhou, Minsheng You.
      Repeatability is the cornerstone of science, and it is particularly important for systematic reviews. However, little is known on how researchers' choice of database, and search platform influence the repeatability of systematic reviews. Here, we aim to unveil how the computer environment and the location where the search was initiated from influence hit results.We present a comparative analysis of time-synchronized searches at different institutional locations in the world and evaluate the consistency of hits obtained within each of the search terms using different search platforms.We revealed a large variation among search platforms and showed that PubMed and Scopus returned consistent results to identical search strings from different locations. Google Scholar and Web of Science's Core Collection varied substantially both in the number of returned hits and in the list of individual articles depending on the search location and computing environment. Inconsistency in Web of Science results has most likely emerged from the different licensing packages at different institutions.To maintain scientific integrity and consistency, especially in systematic reviews, action is needed from both the scientific community and scientific search platforms to increase search consistency. Researchers are encouraged to report the search location and the databases used for systematic reviews, and database providers should make search algorithms transparent and revise access rules to titles behind paywalls. Additional options for increasing the repeatability and transparency of systematic reviews are storing both search metadata and hit results in open repositories and using Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to retrieve standardized, machine-readable search metadata.
    Keywords:  database; evidence synthesis methods; information retrieval; repeatability; reproducibility; search engine; search location
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8154
  8. Fam Pract Manag. 2021 Nov-Dec;28(6):28(6): 5
    Combatting COVID-19 Information Overload.
    Sarina B Schrager.
      
  9. Med Ref Serv Q. 2021 Oct-Dec;40(4):40(4): 421-427
    HIVinfo and ClinicalInfo.
    Nick Dean.
      HIVinfo and ClincalInfo are useful resources for both health-care professionals and consumers to use in better understanding one of the biggest health care challenges of the late twentieth century and early twenty-first century. HIV/AIDS and its treatment has changed over the past four decades and this resource has changed accordingly. Today, HIVinfo and ClinicalInfo serve as leading resources in medical information. This article examines both HIVinfo and ClinicalInfo, free government resources available in both English and Spanish, and why those digital resources are important to both health-care workers and those working outside of health care.
    Keywords:  Government resource; HIV/AIDS; medical database; multilingual resource; online databases; review
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/02763869.2021.1987807
  10. Med Ref Serv Q. 2021 Oct-Dec;40(4):40(4): 383-395
    Creating a YouTube-Style Channel to Provide Information Literacy Instruction Videos for Undergraduate Nursing.
    Anita J Slack.
      Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, higher education and library instruction made the quick and necessary pivot to remote delivery. This report discusses one librarian's efforts to address student learning needs, negotiate disciplinary faculty needs, and provide just-in-time instruction for a Nursing department that lacked a full-time subject specialist librarian for several years. A multi-pronged approach was adopted to ensure students had access to course-specific instructional materials presented on a YouTube-inspired channel, research appointments, and the ability to contact the embedded subject librarian. Next steps, improvements, assessments, and future sustainability are considered.
    Keywords:  Asynchronous instruction; evidence-based practice; information literacy; instructional video; undergraduate nursing
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/02763869.2021.1987794
  11. Med Ref Serv Q. 2021 Oct-Dec;40(4):40(4): 347-354
    Supporting Consensus Statements: Considerations and Recommendations for a Systematic Review Service.
    Michelle R Demetres, Drew N Wright, Diana Delgado.
      Increasingly, a critical eye has been placed on the methodological quality of consensus statements. As expert systematic review (SR) methodologists, librarians are often called on to support consensus statement work. Using the Weill Cornell Medicine Samuel J. Wood Library's SR Service experience as a guide, the aim of this paper is to answer three main questions regarding librarians supporting consensus statement work: (1) What is a consensus statement? (2) What is consensus statement methodology and how does this compare to practice guidelines? (3) What are important and practical points to consider when supporting this kind of request?
    Keywords:  Consensus statements; evidence synthesis; evidence-based medicine; service delivery; systematic reviews
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/02763869.2021.1987771
  12. Nucleic Acids Res. 2021 Nov 10. pii: gkab1063. [Epub ahead of print]
    The Human Disease Ontology 2022 update.
    Lynn M Schriml, James B Munro, Mike Schor, Dustin Olley, Carrie McCracken, Victor Felix, J Allen Baron, Rebecca Jackson, Susan M Bello, Cynthia Bearer, Richard Lichenstein, Katharine Bisordi, Nicole Campion Dialo, Michelle Giglio, Carol Greene.
      The Human Disease Ontology (DO) (www.disease-ontology.org) database, has significantly expanded the disease content and enhanced our userbase and website since the DO's 2018 Nucleic Acids Research DATABASE issue paper. Conservatively, based on available resource statistics, terms from the DO have been annotated to over 1.5 million biomedical data elements and citations, a 10× increase in the past 5 years. The DO, funded as a NHGRI Genomic Resource, plays a key role in disease knowledge organization, representation, and standardization, serving as a reference framework for multiscale biomedical data integration and analysis across thousands of clinical, biomedical and computational research projects and genomic resources around the world. This update reports on the addition of 1,793 new disease terms, a 14% increase of textual definitions and the integration of 22 137 new SubClassOf axioms defining disease to disease connections representing the DO's complex disease classification. The DO's updated website provides multifaceted etiology searching, enhanced documentation and educational resources.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkab1063
  13. Nucleic Acids Res. 2021 Nov 09. pii: gkab981. [Epub ahead of print]
    CEBS update: curated toxicology database with enhanced tools for data integration.
    Cari Martini, Ying Frances Liu, Hui Gong, Nicole Sayers, German Segura, Jennifer Fostel.
      The Chemical Effects in Biological Systems database (CEBS) contains extensive toxicology study results and metadata from the Division of the National Toxicology Program (NTP) and other studies of environmental health interest. This resource grants public access to search and collate data from over 10 250 studies for 12 750 test articles (chemicals, environmental agents). CEBS has made considerable strides over the last 5 years to integrate growing internal data repositories into data warehouses and data marts to better serve the public with high quality curated datasets. This effort includes harmonizing legacy terms and metadata to current standards, mapping test articles to external identifiers, and aligning terms to OBO (Open Biological and Biomedical Ontology) Foundry ontologies. The data are made available through the CEBS Homepage (https://cebs.niehs.nih.gov/cebs/), guided search applications, flat files on FTP (file transfer protocol), and APIs (application programming interface) for user access and to provide a bridge for computational tools. The user interface is intuitive with a single search bar to query keywords related to study metadata, publications, and data availability. Results are consolidated to single pages for each test article with NTP conclusions, publications, individual studies, data collections, and links to related test articles and projects available together.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkab981
  14. J Clin Epidemiol. 2021 Nov 03. pii: S0895-4356(21)00347-4. [Epub ahead of print]
    Summaries of harms in systematic reviews are unreliable Paper 1: An introduction to research on harms.
    Riaz Qureshi, Evan Mayo-Wilson, Tianjing Li.
       OBJECTIVE: Most systematic reviews of interventions focus on potential benefits. Common methods and assumptions that are appropriate for assessing benefits can be inappropriate for harms. This paper provides a primer on researching harms, particularly in systematic reviews.
    STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: Commentary describing challenges with assessing harm.
    RESULTS: Investigators should be familiar with various terminologies used to describe, classify, and group harms. Published reports of clinical trials include limited information about harms, so systematic reviewers should not depend on these studies and journal articles to reach conclusions about harms. Visualizations might improve communication of multiple dimensions of harms such as severity, relatedness, and timing.
    CONCLUSION: The terminology, classification, detection, collection, and reporting of harms create unique challenges that take time, expertise, and resources to navigate in both primary studies and evidence syntheses. Systematic reviewers might reach incorrect conclusions if they focus on evidence about harms found in published reports of randomized trials of a particular health problem. Systematic reviews could be improved through better identification and reporting of harms in primary studies and through better training and uptake of appropriate methods for synthesizing evidence about harms.
    Keywords:  Clinical Trials; Harms; Meta-analysis; Synthesis; Systematic Reviews
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2021.10.023
  15. J Clin Epidemiol. 2021 Nov 03. pii: S0895-4356(21)00348-6. [Epub ahead of print]
    Summaries of harms in systematic reviews are unreliable Paper 2: Methods used to assess harms are neglected in systematic reviews of gabapentin.
    Riaz Qureshi, Evan Mayo-Wilson, Thanitsara Rittiphairoj, Mara McAdams-DeMarco, Eliseo Guallar, Tianjing Li.
       OBJECTIVE: We compared methods used with current recommendations for synthesizing harms in systematic reviews and meta-analyses (SRMAs) of gabapentin.
    STUDY DESIGN & SETTING: We followed recommended systematic review practices. We selected reliable SRMAs of gabapentin (i.e., met a pre-defined list of methodological criteria) that assessed at least one harm. We extracted and compared methods in four areas: pre-specification, searching, analysis, and reporting. Whereas our focus in this paper is on the methods used, Part 2 examines the results for harms across reviews.
    RESULTS: We screened 4320 records and identified 157 SRMAs of gabapentin, 70 of which were reliable. Most reliable reviews (51/70; 73%) reported following a general guideline for SRMA conduct or reporting, but none reported following recommendations specifically for synthesizing harms. Across all domains assessed, review methods were designed to address questions of benefit and rarely included the additional methods that are recommended for evaluating harms.
    CONCLUSION: Approaches to assessing harms in SRMAs we examined are tokenistic and unlikely to produce valid summaries of harms to guide decisions. A paradigm shift is needed. At a minimal, reviewers should describe any limitations to their assessment of harms and provide clearer descriptions of methods for synthesizing harms.
    Keywords:  Clinical Trials; Harms; Meta-analysis; Synthesis; Systematic Reviews
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2021.10.024
  16. J Clin Epidemiol. 2021 Nov 03. pii: S0895-4356(21)00349-8. [Epub ahead of print]
    Summaries of harms in systematic reviews are unreliable Paper 3: Given the same data sources, systematic reviews of gabapentin have different results for harms.
    Riaz Qureshi, Evan Mayo-Wilson, Thanitsara Rittiphairoj, Mara McAdams-DeMarco, Eliseo Guallar, Tianjing Li.
       OBJECTIVE: In this methodologic study (Part 2 of 2), we examined the overlap in sources of evidence and the corresponding results for harms in systematic reviews for gabapentin.
    STUDY DESIGN & SETTING: We extracted all citations referenced as sources of evidence for harms of gabapentin from 70 systematic reviews, as well as the harms assessed and numerical results. We assessed consistency of harms between pairs of reviews with a high degree of overlap in sources of evidence (>50%) as determined by corrected covered area (CCA).
    RESULTS: We found 514 reports cited across 70 included reviews. Most reports (244/514, 48%) were not cited in more than one review. Among 18 pairs of reviews, we found reviews had differences in which harms were assessed and their choice to meta-analyze estimates or present descriptive summaries. When a specific harm was meta-analyzed in a pair of reviews, we found similar effect estimates.
    CONCLUSION: Differences in harms results across reviews can occur because the choice of harms is driven by reviewer preferences, rather than standardized approaches to selecting harms for assessment. A paradigm shift is needed in the current approach to synthesizing harms.
    Keywords:  Clinical Trials; Harms; Meta-analysis; Synthesis; Systematic Reviews
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2021.10.025
  17. J Pharm Technol. 2021 Jun;37(3): 161-164
    The Drug Manufacturer as a Drug Information Resource.
    Cambrey Nguyen.
      Pharmacists use a myriad of drug resources for patient care; however, the drug manufacturer is often overlooked and underutilized as a resource for drug information. Pharmaceutical companies have a medical information department that is responsible for providing drug information to pharmacists and the public about the company's products. This article will explain the purpose and functions of the medical information department within a pharmaceutical company. In addition, the type of information that may be requested and the ways to request drug information will be discussed.
    Keywords:  drug information; drug manufacturer; patient care; pharmaceutical industry; pharmacists
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1177/87551225211005427
  18. J Transl Med. 2021 Nov 08. 19(1): 461
    mapMECFS: a portal to enhance data discovery across biological disciplines and collaborative sites.
    Ravi Mathur, Megan U Carnes, Alexander Harding, Amy Moore, Ian Thomas, Alex Giarrocco, Michael Long, Marcia Underwood, Christopher Townsend, Roman Ruiz-Esparza, Quinn Barnette, Linda Morris Brown, Matthew Schu.
       BACKGROUND: Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a debilitating disease which involves multiple body systems (e.g., immune, nervous, digestive, circulatory) and research domains (e.g., immunology, metabolomics, the gut microbiome, genomics, neurology). Despite several decades of research, there are no established ME/CFS biomarkers available to diagnose and treat ME/CFS. Sharing data and integrating findings across these domains is essential to advance understanding of this complex disease by revealing diagnostic biomarkers and facilitating discovery of novel effective therapies.
    METHODS: The National Institutes of Health funded the development of a data sharing portal to support collaborative efforts among an initial group of three funded research centers. This was subsequently expanded to include the global ME/CFS research community. Using the open-source comprehensive knowledge archive network (CKAN) framework as the base, the ME/CFS Data Management and Coordinating Center developed an online portal with metadata collection, smart search capabilities, and domain-agnostic data integration to support data findability and reusability while reducing the barriers to sustainable data sharing.
    RESULTS: We designed the mapMECFS data portal to facilitate data sharing and integration by allowing ME/CFS researchers to browse, share, compare, and download molecular datasets from within one data repository. At the time of publication, mapMECFS contains data curated from public data repositories, peer-reviewed publications, and current ME/CFS Research Network members.
    CONCLUSIONS: mapMECFS is a disease-specific data portal to improve data sharing and collaboration among ME/CFS researchers around the world. mapMECFS is accessible to the broader research community with registration. Further development is ongoing to include novel systems biology and data integration methods.
    Keywords:  Chronic fatigue syndrome; Comprehensive Knowledge Archive Network (CKAN); Data Sharing Portal; Data integration; Multi-omics; Myalgic encephalomyelitis
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1186/s12967-021-03127-3
  19. JMIR Form Res. 2021 Nov 11. 5(11): e31944
    Seeking Mental Health Support Among College Students in Video-Based Social Media: Content and Statistical Analysis of YouTube Videos.
    Bogeum Choi, Heejun Kim, Jina Huh-Yoo.
       BACKGROUND: Mental health is a highly stigmatized disease, especially for young people. Due to its free, accessible format, college students increasingly use video-based social media for many aspects of information needs, including how-to tips, career, or health-related needs. The accessibility of video-based social media brings potential in supporting stigmatized contexts, such as college students' mental health. Understanding which kinds of videos about college students' mental health have increased viewer engagement will help build a foundation for exploring this potential. Little research has been done to identify video types systematically, how they have changed over time, and their associations on viewer engagement both short term and long term.
    OBJECTIVE: This study aims to identify strategies for using video-based social media to combat stigmatized diseases, such as mental health, among college students. We identify who, with what perspective, purpose, and content, makes up the videos available on social media (ie, YouTube) about college students' mental health and how these factors associate with viewer engagement. We then identify effective strategies for designing video-based social media content for supporting college students' mental health.
    METHODS: We performed inductive content analysis to identify different types of YouTube videos concerning college students' mental health (N=452) according to video attributes, including poster, perspective, and purpose. Time analysis showed how video types have changed over time. Fisher's exact test was used to examine the relationships between video attributes. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to test the association between video types and viewer engagement. Lastly, we investigated the difference in viewer engagement across time between two major types of videos (ie, individuals' storytelling and organization's informational videos).
    RESULTS: Time trend analysis showed a notable increase in the number of (1) videos by individuals, (2) videos that represent students' perspectives, and (3) videos that share stories and experiential knowledge over the recent years. Fisher's exact test found all video attributes (ie, poster, perspective, and purpose) are significantly correlated with each other. In addition, the Mann-Whitney U test found that poster (individual vs organization) and purpose (storytelling vs sharing information) type has a significant association with viewer engagement (P<.001). Lastly, individuals' storytelling videos had a greater engagement in the short term and the long term.
    CONCLUSIONS: The study shows that YouTube videos on college students' mental health can be well differentiated by the types of posters and the purpose of the videos. Taken together, the videos where individuals share their personal stories, as well as experiential knowledge (ie, tips and advice), engaged more viewers in both the short term and long term. Individuals' videos on YouTube showed the potential to support college students' mental health in unique ways, such as providing social support, validating experience, and sharing the positive experience of help-seeking.
    Keywords:  YouTube; anxiety; college student; content analysis; depression; engagement; experiential knowledge; help-seeking; knowledge; mental health; social media; stigma; strategy; student; time distribution analysis; video types
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.2196/31944
  20. Med Ref Serv Q. 2021 Oct-Dec;40(4):40(4): 396-407
    Quality Evaluation of Consumer Health Information Websites Found on Google Using DISCERN, CRAAP, and HONcode.
    Ivan A Portillo, Catherine V Johnson, Scott Y Johnson.
      Online health misinformation is a growing problem, and health information professionals and consumers would benefit from an evaluation of health websites for reliability and trustworthiness. Terms from the Google COVID-19 Search Trends dataset were searched on Google to determine the most frequently appearing consumer health information websites. The quality of the resulting top five websites was evaluated. The top five websites that appeared most frequently were WebMD, Mayo Clinic, Healthline, MedlinePlus, and Medical News Today, respectively. All websites, except Medline Plus, received HONcode certification. Based on DISCERN and CRAAP scores, MedlinePlus was found to be the most reliable health website.
    Keywords:  COVID-19; CRAAP; Consumer health information; DISCERN; HONcode; website evaluation
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/02763869.2021.1987799
  21. J Fr Ophtalmol. 2021 Oct 28. pii: S0181-5512(21)00465-4. [Epub ahead of print]
    Assessment of YouTube videos as an information resource for keratoconus patients.
    E Bozali, D Yalinbas Yeter.
       PURPOSE: To assess the quality of YouTube™ videos on keratoconus as an information resource for patients.
    METHODS: The words "Keratoconus", "Crosslinking", and "Keratoconus treatment for patients" were used as search terms on the official YouTube™ website (http://www.youtube.com). All cookies were disabled, the search history of the web browser was deleted just prior to the search, and no additional changes were made to the standard YouTube™ search preferences. The first 180 videos were downloaded. A total of 116 videos were evaluated according to DISCERN score, Journal of the American Medical Association score, and Global Quality Score. Videos were also assessed based on the presence or absence of 10 criteria proposed by two ophthalmologists.
    RESULTS: One hundred and sixteen videos were analyzed after the exclusion of 54 videos that were either duplicates, irrelevant, or in languages other than English. The mean DISCERN, Journal of the American Medical Association and Global Quality scores were 43.25±11.52, 1.30±0.90, 3.05±0.96 respectively. Fifty-six (48.3%) videos had been uploaded by physicians, 23 (19.8%) by healthcare organizations, 23 (19.8%) by patients, and 14 (12.1%) by other entities such as independent organizations and YouTube™ health channels. The most commonly satisfied criterion was information on treatment modalities (82.7%).
    CONCLUSION: Keratoconus is a disease of youth, therefore YouTube™ videos would seem to be an easily accessible, informative and educational source, especially for younger patients. However, these videos are not useful as information resources and overall do not offer any additional benefit to patients.
    Keywords:  Crosslinking; Keratoconus; Keratoconus treatment for patients; Kératocône; Le cross linking; Traitement du kératocône chez les patients; YouTube
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfo.2021.05.010
  22. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol. 2021 Sep 04. pii: S2212-4403(21)00605-2. [Epub ahead of print]
    Medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw: A cross-sectional survey assessing the quality of information on the Internet.
    Maurice J Meade.
       OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of information and readability of online content regarding medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ).
    STUDY DESIGN: Three search engines were used to identify websites containing information regarding MRONJ. The content was assessed with 5 quality of information and readability tools. Statistical analyses were performed via GraphPad Software (GraphPad Software Inc., La Jolla, Calif, United States).
    RESULTS: The Health on the Net (HONcode) seal was present in 2 of the 21 websites that satisfied inclusion/exclusion criteria. The mean JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) benchmark satisfied per website was 1.619 out of 4 (standard deviation [SD] = 1.2; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.07-2.17). The mean overall Quality Evaluation Scoring Tool score was 15.29 out of a maximum 28 (SD = 6.174; 95% CI, 12.48-18.1). The Quality Evaluation Scoring Tool scores of those websites that satisfied ≥3 JAMA criteria were significantly higher than those that did not (P = .01; 95% CI, -11.41 to -1.79). The readability levels of all content ranged from fairly difficult to very difficult.
    CONCLUSIONS: The information related to MRONJ on the Internet is unreliable and too difficult for the general public to read. Authors of online MRONJ information should consider use of quality of information and readability tools to ensure that reliable information is understood by those with poor health literacy skills.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oooo.2021.08.029
  23. Otol Neurotol. 2021 Nov 11.
    Evaluation of the Quality of Online Information on Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss.
    Liam Simani, Yahav Oron, Ophir Handzel, Rani Abu Eta, Anton Warshavsky, Gilad Horowitz, Nidal Muhanna, Omer J Ungar.
       OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the quality of leading Internet resources of information on sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL).
    STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional descriptive design.
    SETTINGS: An online search by means of the Google search engine.
    METHODS: An online search was conducted using terms related to SSNHL. We defined "quality" according to scaled readability measures (Flesch Reading Ease [FRE] and Flesch-Kincaid Grade-Level [FKGL]), as well as "understandability" and "actionability" (Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool), and Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) adherence. Scoring was performed by two independent physicians.
    RESULTS: The 10 most frequently encountered patient education websites were analyzed. The average FRE score was "fairly difficult" (mean 57.28, median 55.55, range 46.4-71.8) and the average FKGL score was "standard" (mean 9th grade, median 9th grade, range 5th-10th grade). Nine websites were understandable (mean 83%, median 84%, range 69-100%), and seven had good actionability scores (mean 73%, median 75%, range 50-100%). Most websites conformed with the CPG for patient education at a reasonable level (mean 5.6, median 5.5, range 3-7). Notably, all websites encouraged seeking medical help.
    CONCLUSION: Internet resources for patient education on SSNHL vary in quality and are generally understandable to the average layman. There is still much room for better, more comprehensive and easier-to-read information to improve patients' medical knowledge about their condition.Level of Evidence: 1.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1097/MAO.0000000000003424
  24. Prenat Diagn. 2021 Nov 07.
    What's out there for parents? A systematic review of online information about prenatal microarray and exome sequencing.
    Michelle Peter, Hannah McInnes-Dean, Jane Fisher, Dagmar Tapon, Lyn S Chitty, Melissa Hill.
       OBJECTIVE: To identify what online patient information (presented in English) is available to parents about prenatal microarray (CMA) and exome sequencing (ES), and evaluate its content, quality, and readability.
    METHOD: Systematic searches (Google and Bing) were conducted, and websites were categorised according to their purpose. Websites categorised as patient information were included if they were: in English, directed at patients, or were a text, video, or online version of an information leaflet. Author-developed content checklists, the DISCERN Genetics tool, and readability tests (the Flesch Reading Ease Score, the Gunning Fog Index, and the Simple Measure of Gobbledygook Index) were then used to assess those sources of patient information.
    RESULTS: Of the 665 websites screened, 18 met the criteria. A further 8 sources were found through a targeted search of professional organisations, resulting in 26 sources available for further evaluation. In general, this was found to be low in quality, omitted details recommended by national or international guidance, and was written at a level too advanced for average readers.
    CONCLUSION: Improvements should be made to the content, quality, and readability of online information so that it both reinforces and complements the discussions between parents and clinicians about testing options during pregnancy.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1002/pd.6066
  25. J World Fed Orthod. 2021 Oct 28. pii: S2212-4438(21)00043-6. [Epub ahead of print]
    YouTube as a source of information on adult orthodontics: a video analysis study.
    Mehmet Ali Yavan, Gökçenur Gökçe.
       BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the content and quality of YouTube videos on the topic of adult orthodontics.
    METHODS: Four Turkish keywords were searched on YouTube: ``orthodontic treatment in older ages'' (ileri yaşlarda ortodonti tedavisi); ``orthodontic treatment in adults'' (yetişkinlerde ortodonti tedavisi); ``braces treatment in older ages'' (ileri yaşlarda video information and quality index diş teli tedavisi); and ``braces treatment in adults'' (yetişkinlerde diş teli tedavisi). A total of 184 videos, ranked according to their relevance, were examined; out of these, 52 videos on the topic of adult orthodontics were included in the study. The information content score (with a scoring system consisting of 6 questions), reliability score, (VIQI), interaction index, and viewing rate of the videos were evaluated. The Mann-Whitney U test, Student's t test, and Spearman correlation coefficients were used for statistical analysis.
    RESULTS: Explanations provided on all videos included in the study were given by orthodontists, to inform patients. The average content score of the videos was 2.55 ± 0.99 out of 6, and the reliability score was 3.07 ± 0.92 out of 5. The VIQI score was found to be 16.05 ± 2.76 out of 20. A total of 34 (65%) of the videos were scored as as having poor content, and 18 (35%) had rich content. Rich-content videos were observed to be significantly longer (P < 0.05) and have higher VIQI scores (P < 0.001).
    CONCLUSIONS: Although the information provided by YouTube videos about adult orthodontics was only moderately sufficient, this study found that YouTube is a reliable source of information.
    Keywords:  Adult orthodontics; Social media; YouTube
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejwf.2021.09.001
  26. Eur Oral Res. 2021 Sep 01. 55(3): 104-109
    Quality and reliability of web-based information regarding restorative treatment in pediatric patients.
    Berna Kuter, Alp Abidin Atesci, Ece Eden.
       Purpose: The aim of the present study is to assess the quality and reliability of web-based information about restorative treatment in pediatric patients on the internet using different scales.
    Materials and methods: Websites obtained by using keywords about restorative treatment in pediatric patients on Google and Yandex were included in the study. The study was conducted in English on a total of 440 websites. Websites were evaluated using the quality criteria for consumer health information (DISCERN toolkit), Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmarks, and Health on the Net Code of Conduct Certification (HONCode).
    Results: The mean DISCERN points of the websites were moderate. Among the evaluated websites, the quality of the knowledge in 20% of the websites was low. The rate of websites with a score below 40 was 37.5%. None of them has reached an excellent score. No websites met all JAMA criteria. There was no HONCode Certificate on any website.
    Conclusion: This study showed that the quality of the web-based information about restorative treatment in pediatric patients was generally inadequate and scientifically imperfect.
    Keywords:   DISCERN; HONCode; Internet; JAMA; quality of web information
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.26650/eor.2021812053
  27. Pediatr Int. 2021 Nov 08.
    YouTube videos in Japanese as a source of information on nocturnal enuresis: a content-quality and reliability analysis.
    Naoto Nishizaki, Daishi Hirano, Kimihiko Oishi, Toshiaki Shimizu.
       BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate the quality and reliability of Japanese YouTube videos pertaining to nocturnal enuresis (NE).
    METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, we performed a YouTube search using the keyword "Ya-nyou-shou" (NE in Japanese). We considered the first 200 videos listed based on the YouTube default option. Videos that were irrelevant, concerned personal experiences or adult NE, had non-Japanese content, were advertisements, were duplicated, and those without audio were excluded. Video features and upload source were recorded. The Modified DISCERN, Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), and Global Quality Scale (GQS) scoring systems were used for analysis. Two independent pediatricians specialized in nephrology and urology completed the scoring. Correlation analysis was performed between video features and the three quality analysis scores.
    RESULTS: In total, 72 videos were analyzed. The most common upload sources were physicians (40.3%) and non-physician health personnel (40.3%). The median modified DISCERN, JAMA, and GQS scores for the videos were 1 (lowest: 0; highest: 4), 2 (lowest: 1; highest: 3), and 2 (lowest: 1; highest: 4), respectively. The high scores for video power index (VPI) were for independent users (6.43 points) and physicians (3.05 points). There were positive correlations between the VPI and video length and modified DISCERN and GQS scores. No video presenters disclosed conflicts of interest.
    CONCLUSIONS: Most Japanese YouTube videos about NE were low quality. Healthcare experts should be encouraged to upload more quality content.
    Keywords:  Children; Internet; Japan; Nocturnal enuresis; YouTube
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1111/ped.15049
  28. Clin Exp Dermatol. 2021 Nov 12.
    Consulting "Dr. YouTube": A content analysis of YouTube videos related to hidradenitis suppurativa treatments.
    D Lukac, K Pagani, J Z Yi, J S McGee.
      Currently, YouTube is the second largest search engine with nearly 5 billion videos streaming daily. Given its omnipresence in our lives, YouTube can serve as a powerful conduit for dissemination of health information to the general public. Ideally, the social media platform should deliver high quality content to empower and engage patients. Here, we aimed to assess the quality, understandability, and evidence-based content of YouTube videos discussing hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) treatments.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1111/ced.15017
  29. J Pediatr Urol. 2021 Oct 15. pii: S1477-5131(21)00470-8. [Epub ahead of print]
    Analysis of videos about vesicoureteral reflux on YouTube.
    Arife Toksoz, Mesut Berkan Duran.
       OBJECTIVE: To assess the content, reliability and quality of information regarding vesicoureteral reflux in YouTube videos, as a source of patient information.
    MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, a YouTube search with the keyword "vesicoureteral reflux" was performed on April 15, 2021, and the first 150 videos were listed according to relevancy. Advertisements, duplicate videos, videos in languages other than English, and videos without audio were excluded. Video features (time since upload, run time, number of like, dislike, views and comments) and source of upload were recorded. The quality, reliability and accuracy of the information were evaluated independently by an urologist and a pediatrician using the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) score, the 5-point modified DISCERN tool and the Global Quality Score (GQS). Video quality was assessed according to the source of upload and video features. The correlation analysis was performed between video features, GQS, JAMA and DISCERN scores.
    RESULTS: A total number of 125 videos were analyzed. The most common source of upload was hospital, clinician, practice (43.2%) and the majority of the content (25.6%) was about symptoms and diagnosis options. The median JAMA score, modified DISCERN score and GQS was 3 (1-4) (1-5) (1-5), respectively. JAMA scores were significantly higher in videos that were uploaded by hospital, clinician, practice (except tv programs). Modified DISCERN scores and GQS scores of videos uploaded by hospital, clinician, practice was significantly higher than Industry, advertisements, for profit-organizations and individual users, patients (see Summary Table). There is a positive correlation between the number of likes and VPI as well as JAMA, DISCERN, and GQS scores.
    CONCLUSIONS: There is a significant amount of VUR-related content on YouTube and the source of the vídeo influences on quality. Almost half of the vídeos have poor quality, and people apparently choose videos that are technically better, and "technical" videos over "experiential" ones.
    Keywords:  DISCERN; GQS; Vesicoureteral reflux; Youtube
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpurol.2021.10.006
  30. Indian J Urol. 2021 Oct-Dec;37(4):37(4): 339-344
    Assessing information on YouTube™ as a quality source for the treatment of varicoceles.
    H Stephen Hong, J Jacob Lang, Shivashankar Damodaran, Puneet Sindhwani.
       Introduction: YouTube™ has grown into one of the largest disseminators of health care information. We assessed the quality of information on varicoceles and their treatment, available on YouTube™.
    Methods: Using a YouTube™ search query with the keyword "varicocele," the quality of the first 50, nonrepeat videos in English were assessed as a representative group for the topic. DISCERN and Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool for Audiovisual Materials (PEMAT-AV) standardized tools were utilized by three independent reviewers to grade the quality of these videos based on content, understandability, and actionability.
    Results: The average and median DISCERN score was 31.34 (±9.37) and 31 (interquartile range 25-35), respectively, indicating poor quality. The interrater reliability (IRR) scores ranged from 0.51 to 0.93, indicating fair to excellent reliability. The average PEMAT-AV understandability and actionability scores were 69.8% ±15.4% and 11.0% ±24.6%, respectively, indicating mostly understandable but poor actionability. The t-test results showed that international videos scored higher without statistical significance in the DISCERN or PEMAT-AV scores (P = 0.18, 0.59, and 0.20).
    Conclusions: The current quality of videos on YouTube™ on the topic of varicoceles is of poor quality due to a lack of a holistic approach in explaining the wide range of treatment options available. With the ease of access to produce and disseminate health information, there is a need to create high-quality videos on varicoceles that empower a patient to make an informed decision.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.4103/iju.iju_201_21
  31. Inform Health Soc Care. 2021 Nov 08. 1-12
    Fibromyalgia in social media: content and quality of the information analysis of videos on the YouTube platform.
    Caik C Macedo, Pedro H S Figueiredo, Nelcilaine R B Gonçalves, Clarita A Afonso, Rosana M Martins, Jousielle M Santos, Thaís P Gaiad, Borja Sañudo, Vinicius C Oliveira, Vanessa A Mendonça, Ana Cristina R Lacerda.
      To evaluate the fibromyalgia (FM) content in YouTube videos and verify if American College of Rheumatology (ACR) guidelines are being met. The videos were searched with the keyword "Fibromyalgia." Two independent researchers evaluated and coded specific characteristics of the videos. The popularity of the videos, the presentation properties, and content related to FM according to the ACR criteria were analyzed. Of the 200 videos included, the majority were presented by health professionals, 61.5%. Most videos covered more than one subject, 38.5%. The videos presented by health professionals were the most viewed. Following the ACR guidelines, 38% defined FM, 24% described the etiology, 19.5% described the diagnostic criteria and 52% presented recommended management strategies. The results indicate that users mainly watch videos published by health professionals. Most of the published videos do not follow the information recommended by the ACR guidelines. Therefore, videos should be interpreted with caution, not being the most appropriate resource for health education for patients with FM. Most of the videos published on YouTube about FM do not meet the ACR guidelines for FM.
    Keywords:  Health education; content analysis; videos; youtube
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/17538157.2021.1990934
  32. Health Commun. 2021 Nov 07. 1-11
    Dengue-Related Information Needs and Information-Seeking Behavior in Pakistan.
    Mahmood Ahmad, Amara Malik, Khalid Mahmood.
      This present study aims to examine the information needs and information-seeking behavior of Dengue-affected and non-affected people by exploring their information needs, resources used, and obstacles encountered. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 100 Dengue patients and 200 non-patients. The collected data were analyzed by applying descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings revealed that a majority of the respondents had information needs regarding nutritional options, best approaches to treatment, and expected benefits of treatment. They mostly sought information to keep themselves up-to-date and to prevent the disease. Television, Internet search engines, and social media outlets were frequently used information sources along with information-seeking from family and friends. Respondents with higher academic qualifications reported comparatively higher Dengue-related information needs. Moreover, age was a positive predictor of both their information needs and frequency of using health information sources. The findings will be helpful for healthcare providers to tailor Dengue awareness campaigns and prevention strategies according to the public needs and preferences.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2021.1996674
  33. Br J Health Psychol. 2021 Nov 08.
    Measuring online health-seeking behaviour: Construction and initial validation of a new scale.
    Maša Popovac, Rizwana Roomaney.
       OBJECTIVES: Online health-seeking behaviour (OHSB) such as information- and support-seeking encompasses a range of motivations and outcomes, but few studies consider the nuances of OHSB. The current study aimed to (1) develop and provide an initial validation of an OHSB measure, and (2) explore the role of demographic variables in OHSB among adult Internet users.
    DESIGN: The study was a quantitative, cross-sectional online survey.
    METHODS: The study consistent of two data collection waves, including 451 general Internet users (aged 18-73) and 204 online health groups users (aged 19-78) who completed online questionnaires.
    RESULT: Exploratory Factor Analysis and Item Analysis in the two samples resulted in a final 37-item measure. The scale comprises three distinct factors: Support seeking (α = .97); information seeking (α = .89); and the Internet as a supplement or alternative to offline medical care (α = .88). Multiple regression analyses indicated that younger age, a higher number of people living in the household, and presence of a chronic condition significantly predicted all three aspects of OHSB. Poorer perceived health also predicted support-seeking online, while being male, employed and a general Internet user (vs. online health group member) also predicted using the Internet as a supplement or alternative to offline medical care.
    CONCLUSION: The study presents a useful scale for future research to explore more complex psychosocial, contextual and health-related variables as potential contributors to health-seeking in the online domain.
    Keywords:  health information seeking; online health seeking behaviour; online support; scale development; support seeking
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1111/bjhp.12571
  34. J Health Commun. 2021 Nov 06. 1-9
    Patient-Provider Communication and Online Health Information Seeking among a Sample of US Older Adults.
    Young Sam Oh, Jinseop Lim.
      Negative communications with health professionals are a stressor to older adults in healthcare settings. In this situation, older adults seek health information on the Internet as alternative information sources and may consider this as having the equivalent value of communicating with a health professional. This study examines the relationship between communications with health professionals and online health information seeking in older adults. This study used the Health Information National Trends Survey, Cycle 3, and included participants (N = 743) aged 65 or older who used the Internet. A multiple logistic regression was employed to examine the association of health professional communication with online health information seeking. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was applied to examine the association between health communications and three types of online health information seeking in older adults. Online health information seeking was significantly associated with negative communications with health professionals. Health communications only predicted online health information seeking by oneself, and females were more likely to search for health information on the Internet than males. The results of this study show that older adults' online health information seeking is an active coping strategy to reduce health risks and improve health promotion in healthcare.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2021.1998846
  35. Aust N Z J Public Health. 2021 Nov 11.
    Information needs and preferences among rural cancer survivors in Queensland, Australia: a qualitative examination.
    Fiona Crawford-Williams, Belinda C Goodwin, Suzanne K Chambers, Joanne F Aitken, Martelle Ford, Jeff Dunn.
       OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to understand how cancer survivors in rural Queensland seek and receive information, as well as their preferences regarding the content and delivery of health-related information.
    METHODS: This study explored cancer survivors' experiences in seeking and comprehending health information using a qualitative descriptive approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 participants. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.
    RESULTS: Two major themes and six sub-themes were identified including 1) information content and gaps - a) information about diagnosis and treatment, b) survivorship information gaps and c) practical support needs and 2) delivery and acceptance of information - a) sources of information, b) personalised information needs and c) information seeking or avoidance. Findings suggested that health information provision was inconsistent; survivors' attitudes towards seeking information varied greatly; and survivors' had difficulty processing information due to emotional distress.
    CONCLUSION: The role of the health professional is critical in providing information and support to rural cancer survivors. Information provided should be tailored to meet the needs and preferences of individuals taking into consideration demographic factors and attitudes. Implications for public health: The current findings imply that quality information provision after cancer treatment would facilitate improvements in satisfaction among rural cancer survivors.
    Keywords:  cancer survivorship; health information; oncology; qualitative; rural health
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1111/1753-6405.13163
  36. JMIR Med Inform. 2021 Nov 08. 9(11): e30356
    Health Information Needs of Young Chinese People Based on an Online Health Community: Topic and Statistical Analysis.
    Jie Wang, Xin Wang, Lei Wang, Yan Peng.
       BACKGROUND: The internet has been widely accessible and well accepted by young people; however, there is a limited understanding of the internet usage patterns and characteristics on issues related to health problems. The contents posted on online health communities (OHCs) are valuable resources to learn about youth's health information needs.
    OBJECTIVE: In this study, we concurrently exploited statistical analysis and topic analysis of online health information needs to explore the distribution, impact factors, and topics of interest relevant to Chinese young people.
    METHODS: We collected 60,478 health-related data sets posted by young people from a well-known Chinese OHC named xywy.com. Descriptive statistical analysis and correlation analysis were applied to find the distribution and influence factors of the information needs of Chinese young people. Furthermore, a general 4-step topic mining strategy was presented for sparse short texts, which included sentence vectorization, dimension reduction, clustering, and keyword generation.
    RESULTS: In the Chinese OHC, Chinese young people had a high demand for information in the areas of gynecology and obstetrics, internal medicine, dermatology, plastic surgery, and surgery, and they focused on topics such as treatment, symptoms, causes, pathology, and diet. Females accounted for 69.67% (42,136/60,478) and young adults accounted for 87.44% (52,882/60,478) of all data. Gender, age, and disease type all had a significant effect on young people's information needs and topic preferences (P<.001).
    CONCLUSIONS: We conducted comprehensive analyses to discover the online health information needs of Chinese young people. The research findings are of great practical value to carry out health education and health knowledge dissemination inside and outside of schools according to the interests of youth, enable the innovation of information services in OHCs, and improve the health literacy of young people.
    Keywords:  information needs; online health community; topic analysis; young people
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.2196/30356
  37. Med Ref Serv Q. 2021 Oct-Dec;40(4):40(4): 448-455
    Results of an Informal Needs Assessment Survey.
    Catherine Pepper.
      A previous Informatics Education column argued that, while instruction is a competency defined by the Medical Library Association and is a job requirement for many public services librarians, little opportunity exists for learning how to teach in formal training venues, such as library school, relegating librarians to learn how to teach on their own. After examining some of the literature surrounding pedagogy for medical informatics librarians, a link to a brief, informal survey on pedagogical training needs was provided. This column follows up with results from that needs assessment.
    Keywords:  Informatics instruction; pedagogy; survey
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/02763869.2021.1987819
  38. Med Ref Serv Q. 2021 Oct-Dec;40(4):40(4): 428-434
    From the Literature.
    Emme Lopez.
      
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/02763869.2021.1987808
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