Research Support in Health Sciences Libraries: A Scoping Review

Background: As part of a health sciences library’s internal assessment of its research support services, an environmental scan and literature review were conducted to identify research services offered elsewhere in Canada. Through this process, it became clear that a more formal review of the academic literature would help libraries make informed decisions about their services. To address this gap, we conducted a scoping review of research services provided in health sciences libraries contexts. Methods: Searches were conducted in Medline, Embase, ERIC, CINAHL, LISTA, LISS, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar and Google for articles which described the development, implementation, or evaluation of one or more research support initiatives in a health sciences library context. We identified additional articles by searching reference lists of included studies and soliciting medical library listservs. Results: Our database searches retrieved 7134 records, 4026 after duplicates were removed. Title/abstract screening excluded 3751, with 333 records retained for full-text screening. Seventy-five records were included, reporting on 74 different initiatives. Included studies were published between 1990 and 2017, the majority from North American and academic library contexts. Major service areas reported were the creation of new research support positions, and support services for systematic review support, grants, data management, open access and repositories. Conclusion: This scoping review is the first review to our knowledge to map research support services in the health sciences library context. It identified main areas of research service support provided by health sciences libraries that can be used for benchmarking or information gathering purposes

Environmental scan and evaluation of best practices for online systematic review resources

Objective: Online training for systematic review methodology is an attractive option due to flexibility and limited availability of in-person instruction. Librarians often direct new reviewers to these online resources, so they should be knowledgeable about the variety of available resources. The objective for this project was to conduct an environmental scan of online systematic review training resources and evaluate those identified resources. Methods: The authors systematically searched for electronic learning resources pertaining to systematic review methods. After screening for inclusion, we collected data about characteristics of training resources and assigned scores in the domains of (1) content, (2) design, (3) interactivity, and (4) usability by applying a previously published evaluation rubric for online instruction modules. We described the characteristics and scores for each training resource and compared performance across the domains. Results: Twenty training resources were evaluated. Average overall score of online instructional resources was 61%. Online courses (n=7) averaged 73%, web modules (n=5) 64%, and videos (n=8) 48%. The top 5 highest scoring resources were in course or web module format, featured high interactivity, and required a longer (>5hrs) time commitment from users. Conclusion: This study revealed that resources include appropriate content but are less likely to adhere to principles of online training design and interactivity. Awareness of these resources will allow librarians to make informed recommendations for training based on patrons’ needs. Future online systematic review training resources should use established best practices for e-learning to provide high-quality resources, regardless of format or user time commitment

Device-measured physical activity, sedentary behaviour and cardiometabolic health and fitness across occupational groups: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Background With approximately 8 hours of one’s waking day spent at work, occupational tasks and environments are important influencers on an individual’s physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviours. Little research has compared device-measured physical activity, sedentary behaviour and cardiometabolic outcomes between occupational groups. Objective To compare device-measured movement (sedentary time [ST], light intensity physical activity [LPA], moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity [MVPA], and steps) across occupations. The secondary objective was to examine whether cardiometabolic and fitness outcomes differed by occupation. Methods Five bibliographic databases were searched to identify all studies which included working age, employed adults from high-income countries, and reported on device-measured movement within occupations. Risk of bias within and across studies was assessed. Results were synthesized using meta-analyses and narrative syntheses. Results The review includes 132 unique studies with data from 15,619 participants. Working adults spent ~ 60% of their working and waking time engaged in sedentary behaviour; a very small proportion (~ 4%) of the day included MVPA. On average, workers accumulated 8124 steps/day. Office and call center workers’ steps/day were among the lowest, while those of postal delivery workers were highest. Office workers had the greatest ST and the lowest time in LPA both at work and during wakeful time. However, office workers had the greatest minutes sent in MVPA during wakeful hours. Laborers had the lowest ST and spent a significantly greater proportion of their work time in LPA and MVPA. Healthcare and protective services workers had higher levels of LPA at work compared to other occupations. Workers in driving-based occupations tended to have a higher body mass index and blood pressure. Conclusion This review identifies that occupational and wakeful time PA and ST differed between occupations. Future studies are needed to assess whether patterns differ by age and sex, describe leisure-time movement and movement patterns, and the relationship with cardiometabolic health. Systematic review registration PROSPERO CRD42017070448

Efficacy of milrinone and dobutamine in low cardiac output states: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Purpose: Patients in cardiac intensive care units (ICU) are admitted with increasingly higher disease acuity and a larger burden of non-cardiac critical illness. Accordingly, positive inotropes are being used with increased frequency and little comparative data to support drug selection. We compared the effectiveness and safety of dobutamine and milrinone in low cardiac output states (LCOS) and/or cardiogenic shock (CS). Methods: We performed a systematic review comparing dobutamine to milrinone on all-cause mortality, length of stay in the ICU (LOS-ICU), length of stay in hospital (LOS-H) and significant arrhythmias in hospitalized patients with LCOS and/or CS. Results: We identified 11 studies that meet eligibility requirements and which were published between 2001 and 2016 and included 23,056 patients. Only one randomized clinical trial was identified, with the remaining studies comprising observational cohort studies. The primary outcome, all-cause mortality, trended towards a benefit with milrinone but did not meet pre-specified significance (OR 1.13, 95% CI 1.00-1.29, p=0.06). While LOS-ICU (mean difference -0.72, 95% CI -1.10- -0.34, p=0.0002) was shorter with dobutamine, there was no difference in LOS-H (mean difference -1.22, 95% CI -4.68 – 2.24, p=0.49). Significant arrhythmias, specifically symptomatic and/or requiring antiarrhythmic therapy, were no different between the groups (OR 1.78, 95% CI 0.85-3.76, p=0.13). Conclusions: Currently available data comparing milrinone to dobutamine in patients requiring inotropic support is limited. Dobutamine may be associated with a shorter LOS in the ICU, with a worrisome signal of increased risk of allcause mortality. Randomized data are needed to guide inotrope selection in patients with LCOS and/or CS

Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factor Interventions in Women With Prior Gestational Hypertensive Disorders or Diabetes in North America: A Rapid Review

Women with previous hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) or gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) have a 2- to 3-fold increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The goal of this rapid review was to summarize evidence of the effectiveness of CVD risk factor interventions for postpartum women with a history of HDP or GDM. A comprehensive search strategy was used to search articles published in 5 databases—Ovid MEDLINE, PubMed, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PsycINFO, and Embase). Observational and intervention studies that identified CVD prevention, screening, and/or risk factor management interventions among postpartum women with prior HDP or GDM in Canada and the US were included. The quality of observational and interventional studies, and their risk of bias, were assessed using appropriate critical appraisal checklists. Eight studies, including 4 observational cohorts, 3 randomized controlled trials, and 1 quasi-experimental study, merited inclusion for analysis. A total of 2449 participants were involved in the included studies. The most effective CVD risk factor intervention was comprised of postpartum transition and follow-up, CVD risk factor education, and advice on lifestyle changes. Most of the observational studies led to improvements in CVD risk factors, including improvements in CVD lifetime risk scores. However, none of the RCTs led to improvements in cardiometabolic risk factors. Few studies have investigated CVD risk factor interventions in the postpartum in women with previous HDP or GDM in North America. Further studies of higher quality are needed. Résumé: Les femmes ayant déjà souffert de troubles hypertensifs de la grossesse (THG) ou d'un diabète gestationnel (DG) présentent un risque de maladie cardiovasculaire (MCV) accru de 2 à 3 fois. Cette brève revue de littérature visait à colliger les évidences concernant l'efficacité des interventions se concentrant sur les facteurs de risque de MCV chez les femmes en post-partum ayant des antécédents de THG ou de DG. Une stratégie de recherche exhaustive a été employée pour rechercher des articles publiés dans 5 bases de données (Ovid MEDLINE, PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PsycINFO et Embase). Les études d'observation et d'intervention qui ont identifié des interventions de prévention, de dépistage et/ou de gestion des facteurs de risque des MCV chez les femmes en post-partum ayant déjà souffert de THG ou de DG au Canada et aux États-Unis ont été incluses. La qualité des études observationnelles et interventionnelles, ainsi que leur risque de biais, ont été évalués à l'aide de listes de contrôle d'évaluation critique appropriées. Huit études, dont quatre cohortes observationnelles, trois essais contrôlés randomisés (ECR) et une étude quasi expérimentale, ont été incluses pour l'analyse, impliquant au total 2 449 participantes. L'intervention la plus efficace sur les facteurs de risque de MCV incluait une transition et un suivi post-partum, une sensibilisation aux facteurs de risque de MCV et des conseils sur les changements de mode de vie. La plupart des études observationnelles ont conduit à des améliorations concernant les facteurs de risque de MCV. Cependant, aucun des ECR n'a conduit à des améliorations des facteurs de risque cardiométabolique. Peu d'études ont examiné les interventions sur les facteurs de risque de MCV pendant le post-partum chez les femmes ayant déjà souffert de THG ou de DG en Amérique du Nord. D'autres études de meilleure qualité sont nécessaires