Partnering with Student Health Services to Provide Quality Zoonotic Disease Prevention Information
10:35 AM - 10:55 AM
Objective: Libraries provide high-quality occupational health information. University student health focuses on undergraduates with scarce attention to adult professional students’ needs. Assessing prevention and treatment information about diseases transmissible from animals to humans available to veterinary students from student health services could justify partnerships between libraries and student health to improve the health of these students.
Methods: Content analysis of websites of 42 veterinary schools coordinated by the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (28 in US, 14 international) for zoonotic disease prevention and/or treatment services and information resources provided by student health or occupational health services. Comparative content analysis of websites of student health services (SHS) at universities with schools of veterinary medicine to see whether zoonotic diseases prevention or treatment information or any services specifically for veterinary students are mentioned. Email survey of corresponding academic veterinary librarians asked about available zoonotic disease resources and any outreach with student health services. Each university-based student health service was asked to complete an online survey about services offered to veterinary students and use of library-provided or free online zoonotic disease resources.
Results: Websites of 21 (75%) of the 28 US veterinary colleges mention student health and rabies vaccination. Fewer than half of the sites address strategies for preventing zoonotic diseases, obtaining protective equipment, or dealing with the stress of euthanasia on veterinary personnel. Student health websites provide scant veterinary student health information. While 15 (54%) of the SHS sites address rabies, only 8 (29%) mention other animal-related health issues. Nineteen (68%) of SHS websites linked to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). All SHS staff surveyed (33% response rate) reported using CDC. Merck Veterinary Manual was linked from 14 veterinary websites, mostly from reading lists and library guides. Although 4 (29%) of the 14 librarian respondents had reached out to SHS, none of the contacts related to zoonotic disease.
Conclusions: SHS serving students who work with animals could address zoonotic disease prevention with support from librarians who introduce them to relevant resources.
Authors: Kristine M. Alpi, AHIP, Director; Carol E. Vreeland, AHIP, Associate Director, William Rand Kenan, Jr. Library of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC; Rhea M. Hebert, Adjunct Librarian; Library; Brevard Community College, Cocoa, FL
Identifying and Analyzing Interdisciplinary and Interinstitutional Research from United States Veterinary Colleges
10:55 AM - 11:15 AM
Objective: Veterinary medical research traditionally focuses on animal health and wellness; however, research activities at US accredited veterinary colleges extend far beyond these traditional areas. An analysis of peer-reviewed articles indicates an increasing interest in human and public health issues, robust interdisciplinary collaboration, and a broad array of nontraditional research interests and publications.
Methods: The first phase of this study focused on six midwestern veterinary colleges. It identified nontraditional subject areas and trends in research using bibliographic tools available in PubMed, ISI’s Web of Knowledge, and Scopus. After presenting the initial data at the United States Agricultural Information Network conference, USAIN 2010, the study expanded by adding three additional researchers and covering all twenty-eight accredited veterinary schools in the United States. This phase is limited to ISI’s Web of Knowledge in an attempt to create an initially achievable task. Both phases illustrate how using textual analysis tools and visualizations, such as word clouds, can assist with clarifying these data through illustration.
Results: The study identifies journals outside the traditional veterinary medical literature where veterinary faculty publish and research areas outside veterinary medicine in which veterinary faculty are publishing, as well as institutional collaborations and overlap.
Conclusions: This information can assist veterinary medicine librarians in developing collections that fully support the interdisciplinary research conducted by their patrons. Furthermore, data on areas of research can help veterinary medical researchers locate collaborators across disciplines and across institutions.
Authors: Gregory K. Youngen, Veterinary Medicine Librarian, Veterinary Medicine Library, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL; Jessica R. Page, Head, Dr. Samuel and Marian Hodesson Veterinary Medicine Library, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH; Heather K. Moberly, AHIP, Professor and Veterinary Medicine Librarian, William E. Brock Memorial Library, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK; Barbara Hamel, Information Services Librarian, Steenbock Library, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
The Interdisciplinary Village
11:15 AM - 11:35 AM
Objective: As the body of clinical knowledge grows, the clinician needs to rely on specialists to care for the patient. It takes an interdisciplinary village to provide the necessary care. For this village to work effectively, each member needs to have an understanding and appreciation of the other members’ roles. How are the educational and professional experiences relayed to other professions?
Methods: This paper will look at interdisciplinary educational programs currently in place and how they are similar and different in their approaches to teaching medical professionals about each other's professions. There are also many personal narratives in the form of books, blogs, and websites that discuss what it is like to be, among others, a surgeon, pharmacist, resident, or patient. Librarians can find and promote these resources through library newsletters, displays, and book clubs. A discussion of the various ways to incorporate these into an interdisciplinary curriculum will be included.
Results and Conclusions: My results and conclusions are not complete yet.
Author: Linda M. Hartman, AHIP, Reference Librarian, Health Sciences Library System, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
Discovering Our Research Impact: A Bibliometric Exploration of What Journals and Disciplines Are Citing Our Work
11:35 AM - 11:55 AM
Objective: To undertake a citation analysis of articles published in medical library journals between January 2007 and December 2008 that will categorize and quantify the journals and representative subject disciplines that are citing medical library research. This study will provide information on what research fields are connected with our own research interests, as well as a snapshot in time of how our own discipline is connected with worldwide research as a whole.
Methods: First, Ulrich’s web will be used to determine a set of medical library journals for inclusion in the study. To be considered for inclusion, each journal must be included in any of the Web of Science databases as well as MEDLINE. Articles published in selected journals will be captured using Web of Science databases: Science Citation Index, Arts and Humanities Index, and Social Science Indexes. Web of Science will then be used to create a report of citations to these articles prior to December 2009. Web of Science and Journal Citation Reports will then be used to determine subject categories for the citing articles’ journals.
Results: Nine journals were selected for inclusion to this study between January 2007 and December 2008. Overall, these journals represented 1,119 articles recorded in Web of Science databases. These articles have been cited 3,319 times. Citing articles represented over 1,000 unique journals and more than 100 subject areas. Major subject areas citing medical library journals include nursing, medicine, health policy, computer science, biology, pharmacology & pharmacy and more.
Conclusions: This is a small, preliminary study on the impact of medical library journal literature. Medical library journal literature has an impact on a number of journals and subject areas. These findings show that the medical library journal literature’s broad impact on differing subject areas is encouraging for the utility of medical library research. Future research will examine what other studies are being cited, by subject areas, illuminating the impact medical library literature is having, as well as identify areas for future collaboration.
Authors: Michael A. Coffman, Reference Librarian, Reference; Mark E. Hopkins, Library Technology Manager, Reference; Robert M. Bird Library; University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK
