bims-librar Biomed News
on Biomedical librarianship
Issue of 2023‒10‒01
eleven papers selected by
Thomas Krichel, Open Library Society
  1. Bridging the gap in healthcare: creating an online health information prototype for individuals with intellectual disabilities to promote equity and knowledge transfer.
  2. Catchii: Empowering literature review screening in healthcare.
  3. A comparison of machine learning methods to find clinical trials for inclusion in new systematic reviews from their PROSPERO registrations prior to searching and screening.
  4. YouTube as a Patient Information Source for Tendon Repair Surgery.
  5. Evaluating the readability of recruitment materials in veterinary clinical research.
  6. Gender dysphoria: Quality of online information for gender reassignment surgery.
  7. Misinformation about Monkeypox on TikTok.
  8. Epilepsy Videos on YouTube: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study.
  9. The COVID-19 and chloroquine infodemic: Cross-sectional observational study of content analysis on YouTube.
  10. Exploring the health information-seeking practices of breast cancer patients in a middle-income country with a diverse ethnic population: a cross-sectional investigation.
  11. Correction: Prostate cancer and podcasts: an analysis and assessment of the quality of information about prostate cancer available on podcasts.
  1. Front Public Health. 2023 ;11 1194892
    Bridging the gap in healthcare: creating an online health information prototype for individuals with intellectual disabilities to promote equity and knowledge transfer.
    Lisa T Dam, Petra Heidler, Isabel King.
      Introduction: The prevalence of intellectual disabilities (ID) in Austria is estimated to be approximately 1% of the population. Growing awareness of the major challenges faced by individuals with ID, including difficulties in comprehending written health information, communication barriers with healthcare professionals, and limited inclusion in health education research, necessitates concerted efforts to address these issues. The utilization of guidelines promoting easy-to-read language, web accessibility, and usability can significantly enhance access to health information and improve health literacy among people with ID. The "LUCHS-Gesundheitsinformationen (Health Information)" project aimed to improve knowledge transfer of health information for people ID by creating a website prototype.Methods: Unstructured interviews were conducted with two focus groups (n = 20) people with ID and their caretakers to elicit relevant topics and ensure the quality, comprehensibility, and usability of a website prototype. A convenience sample of 20 adults employed in sheltered workshops of the Caritas Lower Austria West facility who met the inclusion criteria participated.
    Results: The prototype addressed four main topics, namely nutrition, medical specialization, first aid, and patient information, offering comprehensive information using easy-to-read language and pictorial content. The website prototype followed web accessibility suggestions and incorporated external resources, such as brochures and emergency contact details, to enhance usability and provide a reliable source of health information for individuals with ID.
    Discussion: The findings suggest that a website format is a feasible means of providing accessible online health information for people with ID. However, further research is warranted to explore the potential of digital health applications for individuals with ID, as inclusion in the Austrian register for digital health applications necessitates meeting multiple quality standards, thereby instilling trust among the target group.
    Keywords:  Austria; easy-to-read language; equity; health information; intellectual disabilities; knowledge transfer; website prototype
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1194892
  2. Res Synth Methods. 2023 Sep 28.
    Catchii: Empowering literature review screening in healthcare.
    Andreas Halman, Alicia Oshlack.
      A systematic review is a type of literature review that aims to collect and analyse all available evidence from the literature on a particular topic. The process of screening and identifying eligible articles from the vast amounts of literature is a time-consuming task. Specialised software has been developed to aid in the screening process and save significant time and labour. However, the most suitable software tools that are available often come with a cost or only offer either a limited or a trial version for free. In this paper, we report the release of a new software application, Catchii, which contains all the important features of a systematic review screening application while being completely free. It supports a user at different stages of screening, from detecting duplicates to creating the final flowchart for a publication. Catchii is designed to provide a good user experience and streamline the screening process through its clean and user-friendly interface on both computers and mobile devices. All in all, Catchii is a valuable addition to the current selection of systematic review screening applications. It enables researchers without financial resources to access features found in the best paid tools, while also diminishing costs for those who have previously relied on paid applications. Catchii is available at https://catchii.org.
    Keywords:  data extraction; duplicate detection; screening; systematic review; web application
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1002/jrsm.1675
  3. Res Synth Methods. 2023 Sep 25.
    A comparison of machine learning methods to find clinical trials for inclusion in new systematic reviews from their PROSPERO registrations prior to searching and screening.
    Shifeng Liu, Florence T Bourgeois, Claire Narang, Adam G Dunn.
      Searching for trials is a key task in systematic reviews and a focus of automation. Previous approaches required knowing examples of relevant trials in advance, and most methods are focused on published trial articles. To complement existing tools, we compared methods for finding relevant trial registrations given a International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) entry and where no relevant trials have been screened for inclusion in advance. We compared SciBERT-based (extension of Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers) PICO extraction, MetaMap, and term-based representations using an imperfect dataset mined from 3632 PROSPERO entries connected to a subset of 65,662 trial registrations and 65,834 trial articles known to be included in systematic reviews. Performance was measured by the median rank and recall by rank of trials that were eventually included in the published systematic reviews. When ranking trial registrations relative to PROSPERO entries, 296 trial registrations needed to be screened to identify half of the relevant trials, and the best performing approach used a basic term-based representation. When ranking trial articles relative to PROSPERO entries, 162 trial articles needed to be screened to identify half of the relevant trials, and the best-performing approach used a term-based representation. The results show that MetaMap and term-based representations outperformed approaches that included PICO extraction for this use case. The results suggest that when starting with a PROSPERO entry and where no trials have been screened for inclusion, automated methods can reduce workload, but additional processes are still needed to efficiently identify trial registrations or trial articles that meet the inclusion criteria of a systematic review.
    Keywords:  clinical trials; information retrieval; systematic reviews
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1002/jrsm.1672
  4. Cureus. 2023 Aug;15(8): e43890
    YouTube as a Patient Information Source for Tendon Repair Surgery.
    Shubham Mishra, Romil H Maniar, Britney Moody, Nadia Djahanshahi, Yanisa Sompornboriboon, Keval B Patel.
      Background For tendon rupture, a disabling musculoskeletal injury, surgical management is considered the gold standard. The goal is to reduce complications and enable the patient to regain full mobility and strength. With the rise of modern internet accessibility and social media, YouTube has become a frequently used platform for all ages; however, the accuracy and reliability of the videos and the information therein may be a point of concern. Methodology This cross-sectional, observational study was designed to analyze tendon repair surgery information available on YouTube. Data were collected using a Google Forms questionnaire which included questions analyzing the videos and their content and the professional status of the uploaders. Quality and reliability scores were assessed through the Global Quality Score (GQS), reliability score, and Video Power Index (VPI). Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). We included videos one minute to twenty minutes in length that were relevant to the topic of tendon repair surgery and in the English language. Results A total of 82 videos were evaluated, of which 67 videos were chosen. A comparison of GQS, reliability score, and VPI based on the type of uploader was done using the Kruskal-Wallis test. The association between GQS and reliability score with that of the video uploader was found to be statistically significant (p < 0.05). Videos uploaded by hospitals had the highest GQS (4) and reliability score (4). Conclusions On comparing the uploader type, videos uploaded by hospitals had good quality and were useful for patients. The quality and reliability of the videos were almost above average. Only half discussed the signs and symptoms and even fewer discussed pre- and post-procedural care. The most important aspect, i.e., prevention, was mentioned in none of the videos. Due to our limitations, expanding the number of accounts used for search and increasing the number of videos might overcome the search algorithm.
    Keywords:  quality assessment; surgery; tendon repair; tendon surgery; youtube®
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.43890
  5. J Vet Intern Med. 2023 Sep 27.
    Evaluating the readability of recruitment materials in veterinary clinical research.
    Charly McKenna, Mindy Quigley, Tracy L Webb.
      BACKGROUND: Owner comprehension is vital to recruitment and study success, but limited information exists regarding the readability of public-facing veterinary clinical trial descriptions.OBJECTIVES: The current study sought to evaluate the readability of public-facing online veterinary clinical trial descriptions from academic institutions and private referral practices.
    ANIMALS: None.
    METHODS: This prospective study assessed readability in a convenience sample of veterinary clinical trial study descriptions using 3 common methods: the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (F-K), Flesch Reading Ease Score (FRES), and online Automatic Readability Checker (ARC). Results were compared across specialties and between academic and private institutions.
    RESULTS: Grade level and readability consensus scores (RCSs) were obtained for 61 online clinical trial descriptions at universities (n = 49) and private practices (n = 12). Average grade-level RCS for study descriptions was 14.13 (range, 9-21). Using Microsoft Word, the FRES score was higher in descriptions from universities compared to private practices (P = .03), and F-K scores were lower in university compared to private practice descriptions (P = .03). FRES (P = .07), F-K (P = .12), and readability consensus (P = .17) scores obtained from ARC were not different between institution types. Forty-eight studies (79%) had RCSs over 12, equivalent to reading material at college or graduate school levels.
    CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Similar to other areas in veterinary communication, the evaluated veterinary clinical trial descriptions used for advertising and recruitment far exceeded the recommended 6th-grade reading level for medical information. Readability assessments are straightforward to conduct, and ensuring health literacy should be a customary best practice in veterinary medicine and clinical research.
    Keywords:  Flesch Reading Ease Score; Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level; client-owned animal; clinical trials; companion animal
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.16857
  6. JPRAS Open. 2023 Dec;38 117-123
    Gender dysphoria: Quality of online information for gender reassignment surgery.
    Federico Lo Torto, Francesco Rocco Mori, Edoardo Bruno, Giorgio Giacomini, Gianmarco Turriziani, Guido Firmani, Marco Marcasciano, Diego Ribuffo.
      An ever-increasing number of patients are using the Internet to learn about medical conditions. This study aimed to evaluate the quality of Internet-based patient information on gender reassignment surgery for people who suffer from gender dysphoria. Twenty websites identified using Google and Yahoo search engines were selected and evaluated based on the modified Ensuring Quality Information for Patients (EQIP) instrument (36 items). The EQIP tool comprises 36 questions to which the answer can be "yes" or "no". The final score for each website can be between 0 and 36. An overall score of 26 or above was considered high, because it co-related to the 72nd percentile. The average of the scores turned out to be 22.5 points, lower than our target; 7 (35%) sites were rated higher than the average and 13 (65%) were rated lower. The assessment of the websites included in the study showed a lack of information about the sequence of the medical procedures, perioperative criticalities and qualitative risks and side-effects descriptions. The overall quality of published information on gender reassignment surgery is very low. We believe that the Internet should not be used as the main source of medical information, and physicians should maintain the leadership in guiding patients affected by gender dysphoria. Level of Evidence: Level IV, case study.
    Keywords:  EQIP Tool; Gender dysphoria; Gender reassignment surgery; Online information
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpra.2023.08.008
  7. Skinmed. 2023 ;21(4): 248-251
    Misinformation about Monkeypox on TikTok.
    Madison Meyer, Rajaa Shoukfeh, Dilara Turk, Geoffrey Potts.
      TikTok is the newest and the most popular form of social media for young global audiences. Healthcare professionals can present medical information to all audiences in engaging and short-length videos. Our study evaluated the reliability of monkeypox-related information presented on TikTok. We assessed the quality of the information presented using DISCERN, a peer-reviewed tool used for evaluating health information presented to consumers. Findings from our study suggested that physicians, members of the healthcare field, and nonmedical individuals post videos for viewers with unreliable information. Physicians and other healthcare professionals should prioritize providing reliable and well-cited information about current infectious diseases, such as monkeypox, to the young and impressionable audiences using TikTok.
  8. Cureus. 2023 Aug;15(8): e43916
    Epilepsy Videos on YouTube: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study.
    Netra Bhoot, Aasvi V Gohil, Kapil Usgaokar, Keyur Ranpariya, Rakshit Yadav, Ankita Nanda.
      INTRODUCTION: Epilepsy is defined as a disorder of the brain characterized by an enduring predisposition to epileptic seizures. Being the most common neurological condition in the world, information regarding epilepsy is gathered by people from different available sources.OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to evaluate the reliability and quality of YouTube videos about epilepsy as a source of information for the general population and also for patients suffering from this illness and for their families.
    METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted, utilizing a questionnaire prepared on Google Forms (Google LLC, Mountain View, California, United States) with predetermined criteria. Each of the six authors independently searched and evaluated 10 YouTube videos using specific keywords. The assessment included determining the global quality score and utilizing the DISCERN tool. The collected data was recorded in Microsoft Excel and subsequently analyzed.
    RESULTS: A total of 60 videos were analyzed, revealing that 76.27% of them provided information on the available treatment options for epilepsy, 71.19% explained the cause and etiology of the condition, and only 3.39% of the videos mentioned support groups.
    CONCLUSIONS: Our study highlights the importance of assessment of medical information on social media platforms in order to ensure availability of correct information with high quality and reliability for epilepsy patients. This will help in understanding their medical health issues and decision making.
    Keywords:  discern tool; epilepsy; epilepsy cause; epilepsy cure; epilepsy prevention; epilepsy treatment; global quality score; seizures; youtube
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.43916
  9. PLoS One. 2023 ;18(9): e0286964
    The COVID-19 and chloroquine infodemic: Cross-sectional observational study of content analysis on YouTube.
    Cynthia Poncelet, Raphaël Porcher, Yên-Lan Nguyen.
      The objective of this study is to evaluate the association between quality and features related to internet users of the most viewed YouTube videos about COVID-19 and chloroquine, during the first wave of the pandemic. We conducted a cross-sectional observational study focusing on the most viewed YouTube videos on COVID-19 and chloroquine treatment, in French and English. The primary outcome was the association between video quality as assessed by DISCERN and modified JAMA scores, and video features related to internet users as assessed by number of viewership and likes. By June 2020, 168 videos accumulating more than 57 million views and nearly 2 million reactions from Internet users, were included. Most of the videos did not support or oppose the treatment and came from news channels (N = 100; 60%). Videos taking sides were mostly pro-chloroquine (N = 69; 89%). The number of non-factual videos analyzed was very low (N = 3; 2%). The quality of the videos was average (mean DISCERN score = 2.4 (DS 1.0) and mean modified JAMA score = 2.6 (DS 0.6)) and declined over time. The best quality videos were those published by health care professionals or those from educational channels. Most experts interviewed were men (N = 136; 81%). More than 1 in 5 videos featured a political figure (N = 35; 21%), and these were mostly pro-chloroquine with lower DISCERN or modified JAMA scores (p<0.001). We found an association between the number of likes and the quality of the videos evaluated by the DISCERN score (rho = 0.29; p<0.001) and the modified JAMA score (rho = 0.30; p<0.001). The association observed between the quality of the videos and the number of likes suggests a better health literacy and critical thinking of lay internet users. Although YouTube has become a major player in the dissemination of medical information, more involvement of health professionals and governmental organizations is needed.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0286964
  10. Support Care Cancer. 2023 Sep 27. 31(10): 593
    Exploring the health information-seeking practices of breast cancer patients in a middle-income country with a diverse ethnic population: a cross-sectional investigation.
    Kah-Chun Yip, Lee-Lee Lai, Shu- Ting Ngu, Reggina Syin-Tze Chong, Abqariyah Yahya, Mee-Hoong See.
      Seeking health information is an important step for cancer patients to understand their condition and facilitate treatment. It also helps them deal with the unknown and aid in recovery. Therefore, it is vital to understand the factors that drive health information-seeking behavior. This study aims to achieve that objective in a localized context by surveying 421 breast cancer patients in an urban teaching hospital. The patients were presented with a 5-point questionnaire that explored their demography, health status, information-seeking behavior, and literacy level. The prevalence of health information-seeking initiatives reported was 60%. Patients with higher education (OR 3.31; 95% CI (1.39-7.87), p = 0.01), having their own business or were self-employed (OR 4.68; 95% CI (1.03-21.24), p = 0.046), and in a Medium 40 (M40) income level (OR 2.31; 95% CI (1.09-4.88), p = 0.03) and Top 20 (T20) level were more likely to seek health information. The mean e-Health Literacy Score (eHEALS) was 28.01 ± 5.0, with healthcare professionals having the highest level of trust (mean 4.22 ± 0.79) and most useful resource score (mean 4.21 ± 0.78). Even though Google was the most popular online search tool used by respondents, most of them seldom (23.77%) or had never (34.34%) discussed the online information they found with healthcare professionals. In conclusion, it is still best for patients to appraise the sought-after information with experts to avoid misinformation and treatment delay.
    Keywords:  Breast cancer; Health information-seeking behavior; Malaysia; Predictors; Sources of online health information
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-023-08033-6
  11. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis. 2023 Sep 25.
    Correction: Prostate cancer and podcasts: an analysis and assessment of the quality of information about prostate cancer available on podcasts.
    Colin Scott, Peter Campbell, Amy Nemirovsky, Stacy Loeb, Rena Malik.
      
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41391-023-00721-y
This page is being maintained by Thomas Krichel. It was last updated on 2023‒10‒01 at 2:33.