Enhancing Evidence-based Information Access to Inform Public Health Practice

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Enhancing Evidence-based Information Access to
Inform Public Health Practice

• Modeling Public Health Information Needs and
  Accessing Requirements
• December 14, 2005

conducted by University of Massachusetts Medical
School Library funded by Center for Disease
Control and Prevention Association of Teachers of
Preventive Medicine Project TS-0734
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Project Staff Resources

• Principal Investigator
• Elaine Martin, DA
• Project Coordinator
• E. Hatheway Simpson, MPH
• Consultants
• Nancy La Pelle, PhD
• Roger Luckmann, MD
• Evidence-Based Practice for Public Health Project
  Website http//library.umassmed.edu/ebpph

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Outline

• Project Background Purpose
• Qualitative Study Findings Part 1 Information
  Needs Continuum Model
• Existing Public Health (PH) Information Resource
  Examples
• Qualitative Study Findings Part 2Information
  Accessing Requirements Not Fully Addressed
• Hypothetical Integrative Model Based on Findings

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Project Background

• Evidence can be applied to solve public health
  problems if readily accessible
• Many barriers identified by other researchers
  including limited
• Encouragement to seek it
• Awareness of what is available
• Access to computers/internet
• Accessing skills
• Time to search
• Ability to appraise credibility availability of
  systematic reviews
• Access to required information beyond biomedical
  field

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Project Purpose

• Build on and integrate findings from related
  studies review of existing resources
• Use qualitative method to identify information
  needs to inform PH practices
• Use findings to inform development of integrative
  models of PH information and accessing needs

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EBPPH Research Process
Step 1 - Identify existing resources and features
Step 3 - Focus group with BCDC participants
Step 2 - Interview BCDC participants
Step 5 - Develop hypothetical model system
Step 4 - Interview CHP participants
Step 6 - Focus group with CHP participants
Step 7 - Revise hypothetical model
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Qualitative Study Detail

• Sample
• Two groups Communicable Disease Control
  Community Health Promotion
• 19 State level PH professionals with strongest
  info accessing needs
• Data Collection Analysis
• Taped/transcribed key informant interviews
• Taped/transcribed follow-up focus groups
• Thematic analysis of all data comparison across
  groups
• Model development review with informants

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Focus of Individual Interviews

• Type of work tasks performed requiring access to
  critical external information?
• Current used and preferred info sources (online
  and offline)?
• Preferred format for research reports (abstracts,
  full text, reviews/commentaries)?
• Current barriers to information access?
• Desired enhancements for access?

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Individual Interview Findings Related to Context

• All DPH staff have PCs, access to internet
• Large sophisticated DPH website
• Multiple DPH sites and more than one library site
• Urgency of information need differs widely
• Electronic information access differs widely

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Findings Information Needs Continuum Model
Emerged
Formal Research Support for Information
Minimum
Maximum

• Published
• research reports
• and meta-analyses

Emerging practices
Emerging health risks and preventive
behaviors
Evaluated practices
Evidence-based guidelines
Well-known disease reference info
Examples SARS, new STD, TB, Effective Immunizati
on health risks venues CVD interventions Clinical
standards Typical Access Mechanisms Automatic C
olleagues, Web Journal Websites notification confe
rences, sites search listserves engines
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Current PH Information Resource Types Reviewed
in Focus Groups

• Providing electronic access to
• Research Reports
• Simple or preformulated searches of research
  report collections
• Alerts archiving
• Summaries/commentaries/critiques
• Systematic reviews and other evidence-based
  resources
• Comprehensive knowledge sources

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http//www.pubmed.gov
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http//phpartners.org/hp
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www.safetylit.org
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http//www.jwatch.org/
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http//www.harcourt-international.com/journals/ebh
c
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http//www.thecommunityguide.org
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http//www.uptodate.com/
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Focus Group Findings Regarding Accessing Needs

• One portal searching access
• Access to consistent information for all
  diseases/populations and from diverse disciplines
  of interest to PH professionals beyond PubMed
  scope
• Better access to relevant and credible grey
  literature as well as systematic reviews and
  full text

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Focus Group Findings Regarding Accessing Needs

• Credibility of information systematically
  reviewed
• Training on how to access information
  electronically
• Mediated searchingarticle retrieval services

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PH Information Access Model
Newly published information in
diverse disciplines of interest
User-selected filters pre- formulated search cri
teria
Review System
PH Evidence-Based Information Access Website

• Journal articles
• Systematic reviews
• Practice Guidelines
• Best Practices
• Relevant grey literature

Credible indexed info
Automatic notification of newly
available requested filtered information
Customized user database of accessed information