Evaluation and analysis of uncertainty in the information seeking behavior of medical post-graduate students

This study aimed to explore and analyze uncertainty in the information seeking behavior among the students of Kerman University of Medical Sciences (KUMS) based on Kuhlthau Information Search Process Model. This is an applied research. Data gathered using questionnaire. Research population included 1075 students from all graduate students of KUMS in M.Sc. and Ph.D. grades. The sample size estimated 263 people .The studied students had relatively similar senses as reported by Kuhlthau in her information search process model. Among demographic variables, only gender affected the presentation stage. Women had better performance in the presentation stage. Ph.D. students performed better than master students when selecting their research topics. These two groups had no clear differences in other stages. Students with previous experience in research activities had better performance in title selection, literature exploration and presentation stages and also had lower uncertainty. The students’ performance decreased in different stages as their ages increased. The effect of individuals’ age on their performance was considerable in the stages of literature exploration and result presentation. The graduate students of KUMS follow the same stages as Kuhlthau information search process model and have similar feelings with that. Uncertainty was felt in the different stages of information search by graduate students of KUMS. The factors like age, gender, level of education and previous experience were effective in some stages on decrease or increase of uncertainty

Global, regional, and national incidence of six major immune-mediated inflammatory diseases: findings from the global burden of disease study 2019Research in context

Summary: Background: The causes for immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) are diverse and the incidence trends of IMIDs from specific causes are rarely studied. The study aims to investigate the pattern and trend of IMIDs from 1990 to 2019. Methods: We collected detailed information on six major causes of IMIDs, including asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and atopic dermatitis, between 1990 and 2019, derived from the Global Burden of Disease study in 2019. The average annual percent change (AAPC) in number of incidents and age standardized incidence rate (ASR) on IMIDs, by sex, age, region, and causes, were calculated to quantify the temporal trends. Findings: In 2019, rheumatoid arthritis, atopic dermatitis, asthma, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease accounted 1.59%, 36.17%, 54.71%, 0.09%, 6.84%, 0.60% of overall new IMIDs cases, respectively. The ASR of IMIDs showed substantial regional and global variation with the highest in High SDI region, High-income North America, and United States of America. Throughout human lifespan, the age distribution of incident cases from six IMIDs was quite different. Globally, incident cases of IMIDs increased with an AAPC of 0.68 and the ASR decreased with an AAPC of −0.34 from 1990 to 2019. The incident cases increased across six IMIDs, the ASR of rheumatoid arthritis increased (0.21, 95% CI 0.18, 0.25), while the ASR of asthma (AAPC = −0.41), inflammatory bowel disease (AAPC = −0.72), multiple sclerosis (AAPC = −0.26), psoriasis (AAPC = −0.77), and atopic dermatitis (AAPC = −0.15) decreased. The ASR of overall and six individual IMID increased with SDI at regional and global level. Countries with higher ASR in 1990 experienced a more rapid decrease in ASR. Interpretation: The incidence patterns of IMIDs varied considerably across the world. Innovative prevention and integrative management strategy are urgently needed to mitigate the increasing ASR of rheumatoid arthritis and upsurging new cases of other five IMIDs, respectively. Funding: The Global Burden of Disease Study is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The project funded by Scientific Research Fund of Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital (2022QN38)