Research-Based Development of a Health Information Professional Concentration and Certificate

Health information professional (HIP) refers to “information professionals, librarians, or informaticists who have special knowledge in quality health information resources” (MLA, 2017, para. 2). The diversity of emerging HIP roles indicates daunting challenges unique to LIS students pursuing HIP careers and to LIS programs endeavoring to develop and update specialized LIS curricula for HIPs. This poster explicates action research built upon the findings of a sequential two-phase project, which included a scoping literature review of scholarly publications on the topic of HIP roles and skills and a survey of employers on the competencies and attributes expected of entry-level HIPs (Ma et al., 2018; Ma et al., 2020). This action research project seeks to create a HIP Concentration and Certificate with course learning outcomes developed and adapted from core HIP professional competencies and employer expectations identified in the two-phase project. Students planning to pursue the HIP Concentration or the HIP Certificate may customize their trajectory with courses including health sciences librarianship, consumer health information, a seminar in current issues for HIP, health informatics, health information systems and management, and health disparities for diverse health communities. Through adapting and consolidating existing courses, LIS faculty and advisors can effectively counsel students early in their studies, inform them of required professional competencies and desirable qualifications, and facilitate work-integrated or preprofessional learning opportunities within and beyond the curriculum. It is hoped that this project will provide an evidence-based approach to developing future specialized HIP programs in LIS education

Emerging roles of health information professionals for library and information science curriculum development: a scoping review

Objective: This scoping review identified the emerging and evolving roles of health information professionals (HIPs) in a range of tasks and settings, as they adapt to varied user needs, while keeping up with changing medical landscapes to provide evidence-based information support in grand rounds and scholarly research. The review aims to inform library school students about expected entry-level job qualifications and faculty about adaptable changes to specialized HIP curricula. Methods: The authors examined 268 peer-reviewed journal articles that concentrated on evolving HIP roles, professional settings, and contexts by retrieving results from several multidisciplinary databases. Results: HIPs, who generally serve as “embedded librarians,” are taking on more active roles as collaborators, research experts, and liaisons, replacing more passive and exclusive roles as information providers and outreach agents or research assistants. These evolving roles in the reviewed literature were broken into nine categories in approximate order of prominence. Conclusions: A new model linking these evolving roles to the Medical Library Association (MLA) fundamental professional competencies was developed to provide an operational examination and research-based evidence for adapting HIP continuing education curriculum learning outcomes, course content and delivery, and student career pathways for existing graduate HIP specialization courses in library programs. The model indicates each role’s connection to the MLA professional competencies, based on MLA’s detailed description of each competency. A better understanding of HIP demands and expectations will enhance the capacity of library programs to prepare students in HIP specializations

Emerging roles of health information professionals for library and information science curriculum development: a scoping review

Objective:This scoping review identified the emerging and evolving roles of health information professionals (HIPs) in a range of tasks and settings, as they adapt to varied user needs, while keeping up with changing medical landscapes to provide evidence-based information support in grand rounds and scholarly research. The review aims to inform library school students about expected entry-level job qualifications and faculty about adaptable changes to specialized HIP curricula.Methods: The authors examined 268 peer-reviewed journal articles that concentrated on evolving HIP roles, professional settings, and contexts by retrieving results from several multidisciplinary databases. Results: HIPs, who generally serve as “embedded librarians,” are taking on more active roles as collaborators, research experts, and liaisons, replacing more passive and exclusive roles as information providers and outreach agents or research assistants. These evolving roles in the reviewed literature were broken into nine categories in approximate order of prominence. Conclusions: A new model linking these evolving roles to the Medical Library Association (MLA) fundamental professional competencies was developed to provide an operational examination and research-based evidence for adapting HIP continuing education curriculum learning outcomes, course content and delivery, and student career pathways for existing graduate HIP specialization courses in library programs. The model indicates each role’s connection to the MLA professional competencies, based on MLA’s detailed description of each competency. A better understanding of HIP demands and expectations will enhance the capacity of library programs to prepare students in HIP specializations.  This article has been approved for the Medical Library Association’s Independent Reading Program

The impact of digital finance on water use intensity in China and mechanisms

[Objective] Digital finance based on information technology provides a new opportunity for the construction of a water-saving society. Effectively release the dividend of water saving and emission reduction brought by the development of digital finance is an important issue for promoting the development of the Chinese-style modernization. [Methods] Based on panel data from 30 provinces in China from 2011 to 2020, this study empirically tested the relationship between digital finance development and water resource utilization using methods such as fixed effect and mediation effect models. [Results] (1) The development of digital finance has an inhibitory effect on water use intensity, which is mainly achieved by improving the coverage and depth of use of digital finance, and the result is still valid after robustness tests such as substitution of variables, instrumental variable method, and limited information maximum likelihood method. (2) From the perspective of transmission pathways, technological innovation and industrial structure adjustment have played a significant mediating role between digital finance and water use intensity, but the mediating role of industrial structure upgrading is not significant. (3) From the perspective of heterogeneity, digital finance has a positive impact on water use efficiency in the eastern region; Meanwhile, digital finance has a significant inhibitory effect on the water use intensity of the primary and secondary industries, but the impact on the water use intensity of the tertiary industry is not significant; Regions with favorable water endowments are more likely to reap the benefits of digital finance. [Conclusion] Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the construction of digital finance, actively innovate financial services, and give full play to the enabling role of digital finance in resource utilization according to local conditions and production policies

Bioinformatics Analysis Identifies p53 as a Candidate Prognostic Biomarker for Neuropathic Pain

Neuropathic pain (NP) is a type of chronic pain that is different from the common type of pain. The mechanisms of NP are still poorly understood. Exploring the key genes and neurobiological changes in NP could provide important diagnostic and treatment tools for clinicians. GSE24982 is an mRNA-seq dataset that we downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database to identify key genes in NP. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified using the BRB-ArrayTools software and R. Functional and pathway enrichment analyses of the DEGs were performed using Metascape. A protein–protein interaction network was created and visualized using Cytoscape. A total of 123 upregulated DEGs were obtained. Among these genes, p53 was the node with the highest degree; hence, we validated it experimentally using a chronic constriction injury mouse model. Our results showed that overexpression of the p53 gene, and the subsequent increase in caspase-3 expression, in dorsal root ganglion neurons led to increased apoptotic changes in these neurons. p53 may therefore be partly responsible for the development of chronic constriction injury-induced NP

Interacting with health information for self-care: A pilot study exploring undergraduates' health information literacy

This poster presents findings from a dissertation pilot study of how undergraduate students apply their knowledge and skills to find, evaluate, and use health information for self-care. The study employed Dervin’s sense-making theory and examined to what extent undergraduate students demonstrate health information literacy (HIL) knowledge and skills within the context of seeking and using health information for self-care. It utilized a three-phase design: (a) a survey, (b) an interview, and (c) a follow-up observational study. Based on purposive sampling, 34 undergraduates at Florida State University participated in the survey, and eight of them were selected as participants for the interview and the observational study. The study results showed major barriers students encountered and strategies they used in various situations when seeking and evaluating information for self-care. This study has implications for designing more effective college health promotion programs and developing objective HIL assessment instruments in the context of health information seeking and use.The Graduate School, Florida State Universitypublished or submitted for publicationis peer reviewe

What are they saying? A speech act analysis of a vaccination information debate on Facebook

The global resurgence of vaccine preventable diseases is garnering attention amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Vaccination information debates in a Facebook group give participants access to second-hand knowledge conveying personal experiences. Through the lens of Speech Act Theory, this study analysed discourses on pro-and anti-vaccination perspectives along with views from vaccine hesitant groups. Analysis reveals significant criticism of behaviour around information. Findings indicate provision of substantiating information would play a crucial role in debate within divergent information contexts. Application of Speech Act Theory serves to inform participant communication more intimately and empowers their engagement in polarized discussion.La résurgence mondiale des maladies évitables par la vaccination attire beaucoup d’attention au cœur de la pandémie de la COVID-19. Les débats sur la vaccination dans un groupe Facebook permettent aux participants d'obtenir de l’information de seconde main véhiculant des expériences personnelles. À travers le prisme de la théorie des actes de langage, cette étude a analysé les discours sur les perspectives pro-et anti-vaccination ainsi que les points de vue de groupes hésitants à la vaccination. L'analyse révèle une critique importante des comportements informationnels. Les résultats indiquent que l’usage d'informations justificatives jouerait un rôle crucial dans des contextes informationnels divergents. L'application de la théorie des actes de langage sert à comprendre plus intimement les pratiques informationnelles des participants et renforce leur engagement dans une discussion polarisée

Que disent-ils? Une analyse dediscours d’un débat portant sur l'information sur la vaccination sur Facebook

The global resurgence of vaccine preventable diseases is garnering attention amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Vaccination information debates in a Facebook group give participants access to second-hand knowledge conveying personal experiences. Through the lens of Speech Act Theory, this study analysed discourses on pro-and anti-vaccination perspectives along with views from vaccine hesitant groups. Analysis reveals significant criticism of behaviour around information. Findings indicate provision of substantiating information would play a crucial role in debate within divergent information contexts. Application of Speech Act Theory serves to inform participant communication more intimately and empowers their engagement in polarized discussion.La résurgence mondiale des maladies évitables par la vaccination attire beaucoup d’attention au cœur de la pandémie de la COVID-19. Les débats sur la vaccination dans un groupe Facebook permettent aux participants d'obtenir de l’information de seconde main véhiculant des expériences personnelles. À travers le prisme de la théorie des actes de langage, cette étude a analysé les discours sur les perspectives pro-et anti-vaccination ainsi que les points de vue de groupes hésitants à la vaccination. L'analyse révèle une critique importante des comportements informationnels. Les résultats indiquent que l’usage d'informations justificatives jouerait un rôle crucial dans des contextes informationnels divergents. L'application de la théorie des actes de langage sert à comprendre plus intimement les pratiques informationnelles des participants et renforce leur engagement dans une discussion polarisée

Information behavior of rural dementia caregivers over the course of counseling interventions

This poster reports findings from an analysis of 81 qualitative interviews with rural dementia caregivers who participated in two research projects that evaluated cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) problem-solving interventions designed to help them manage their caregiving and reduce depression. The research questions posed in this analysis are: (RQ1) How do rural dementia caregivers who have participated in a CBT program interact with the information around them and available to them? (RQ2) How do these caregivers manage, explicitly or tacitly, their information needs and uses? The analysis demonstrates similarities and differences in information behaviors and information environments across the caregivers; for example that physical information artifacts are important to different caregivers for varied reasons, and that religious communities fulfill multiple information-related roles. The findings demonstrate the importance of accounting for the unique constraints on older caregivers in designing interventions to improve and support their caregiving experiences. Creating links among people, such as connecting caregivers to similar others facing similar challenges, and providing them with a structure to allow them to focus on their goals, appear critical to the success of such interventions.published or submitted for publicationis peer reviewe