Understanding Healthcare Information

Citation

Lindsay, M. (2010), "Understanding Healthcare Information", Library Review, Vol. 59 No. 9, pp. 720-721. https://doi.org/10.1108/00242531011087060

The aim of this book is to embody the substance of what an information specialist or librarian in healthcare needs to know. The work is also important for “consumer” health among the general public. It is directed primarily toward students of library and information science and also for practising information professionals and specialists who want to develop their knowledge and bring their skills up to date. The “information communication chain” between author and user is used to trace this journey.

The author describes a three‐fold breakdown of healthcare knowledge. “propositional” or scientific knowledge is generated by research, theory, observation and experiment. Practical craft knowledge is associated with the idea of “professional judgement” or clinical intuition. Personal knowledge is the subjective knowledge that individuals gain by reflecting on their experiences associated with attitudes and values, which influences professional judgement. The value of practical and personal knowledge as an essential complement for effective healthcare practice is increasingly being recognised.

There is a carefully researched historical analysis of healthcare and its information environment through the ancient world, the classical world, the medieval world, the renaissance and enlightenment, the 19th century up to the present day.

A comprehensive table of user studies identifies the users studied and the methodologies used which could stimulate interest among practitioners to investigate further work. The sad news is that “there seems to be a kind of built‐in inertia in the information‐related behaviour of healthcare workers”. While about 60 per cent will turn to the internet for health information, nearly 70 per cent will ask a friend or family member and nearly 90 per cent will ask a doctor. Nearly 90 per cent of nurses cited colleagues as their primary information source, while less than 60 per cent were satisfied with the information received in this way. Google often emerges as the single most popular source of health information for both providers and recipients of healthcare. One study found that it was used more than any other electronic resource by all health professionals in their sample.

As healthcare has a diverse range of controlled vocabularies for organising its information resources, the chapter on the organisation of healthcare information provides invaluable explanations of classification systems, vocabularies, dictionaries and glossaries. This section could enable healthcare librarians to organise their collections in a very rational manner using authoritative sources to support their decision‐making.

A dozen types of original sources of primary information are thoroughly investigated. Ulrich's Periodicals Directory lists 24,097 titles in the medical sciences with most being in obstetrics and gynaecology and the least in forensic sciences. Ulrich has estimated between 20,000 and 30,000 health‐related journals. The largest healthcare libraries hold between 1,000 and 5,000 titles; the Royal Society of Medicine listed 1,300. Smaller healthcare libraries manage between 100 and 300 journals. Other sources of information include: meetings and abstracts, reports, patents, professional newsletters, legislation, regulations and standards. Besides e‐journals, there are blogs, Facebook pages, twitter and mailing lists. The printed textbook and monograph is still very much alive and well in healthcare, although e‐books have had a significant impact since their introduction. The Royal Society of Medicine library website listed 500,000 in 2009. Obviously libraries must also provide access to reference sources, both in electronic and printed form. It is clear that the healthcare domain has a very rich and broad set of information resources. This text enables librarians to understand and select resources based on rational criteria.

The author concludes that healthcare information incorporates a large and diverse knowledge base and its activities may make a direct and significant impact on the health of individuals and populations. Understanding Healthcare Information is a necessary prescription to overcome the built‐in inertia in the information‐related behaviour of healthcare workers. This essential text for information providers in the healthcare sector also includes comprehensive bibliographic and electronic links.