Filters and hubs: shortening the distance to palliative care evidence

Author version made available in accordance with the publisher's policyPalliative care is an integral part of the care provided by GPs and other primary health care providers, and as Australia’s population ages and the palliative care needs of patients with end stage organ failure are recognised, this area of care is likely to increase. Using a Knowledge Translation framework, two strategies have been used to develop resources to support those providing palliative care in the community. PubMed Searches on a range of common palliative care topics and incorporating a palliative care filter provide an easy and validated mechanism to retrieve relevant literature. A “GP Hub” offers knowledge, skills and practical advice for GPs who provide palliative care in the community. Both resources are freely available within the CareSearch website ensuring immediate access to palliative care information and evidence when it is needed

Knowledge, knowledge management and knowledge networks

Published version made available with the publisher's permission

Establishing the principles in Halal logistics / Marco Tieman

This research paper aims to establish the principles of halal logistics. This exploratory research paper is based on a large discussion group held in Malaysia to define the scope of halal logistics, its principles and foundation for Muslim and non-Muslim countries. Halal logistics covers warehousing, transportation and terminal operations. The establishment of these principles serves as a guide for the creation of a global halal logistics system; minimising hardship for the halal industry; define cross-contamination between halal and haram and how to avoid it; create an evolution of a complete halal value chain and supply chain; and benchmark with existing standards and best practices. For Muslim countries, halal logistics is based on avoiding direct contact with haram, addressing the risk of contamination, and perception of the Muslim consumer. For non-Muslim countries, halal logistics is only based on avoiding direct contact with haram and addressing the risk of contamination. Since this paper is an exploratory study, it provides some insights into the minimum and preferred level of halal logistics in Muslim and non-Muslim countries. However, quantitative research is needed to confirm this difference in consumer perception between Muslim and non-Muslim countrie

Systematic review of the types of methods and approaches used to assess the effectiveness of healthcare information websites

Author version made available in accordance with the publisher's policyThe objective of this systematic review was to identify types of approaches and methods used to evaluate the effectiveness of healthcare information websites. Simple usage data may not be sufficient to assess if the desired healthcare outcomes were achieved or to determine the relative effectiveness of different web resources on the same health topic. To establish the state of the knowledge base on assessment methods used to determine the effectiveness of healthcare websites, a structured search of the literature was conducted in Ovid Medline resulting in 1,611 articles retrieved, of which 240 met the inclusion criteria for this review. Results of this review found that diverse evaluation methods were used to measure the effectiveness of healthcare websites. These evaluation methods were used during development, prior to release, and after release. Economic assessment was rare and most evaluations looked at content issues such as readability scores. A number of studies did try to assess the usefulness of websites but few studies looked at behaviour change or knowledge transfer following engagement with the designated health website. To assess the effectiveness of the knowledge transfer of healthcare information through the online environment, multiple methods may need to be used to evaluate healthcare websites and may need to be undertaken at all stages of the website development process

CareSearch Online palliative care information for GPs

General practitioners occupy a unique place in caring for patients with terminal illnesses who wish to continue living in the community. Supporting and encouraging GPs to offer or continue providing palliative care is not only important for individual patients and their families but for the health system and the whole community. The GP pages in the CareSearch website are designed to provide immediate access to relevant content and palliative care resources to assist GPs in this role.CareSearch has been funded by the Department of Health and Ageing as part of the National Palliative Care Program

Finding the best available evidence: how can we know?

This work is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/The importance (in all scientific fields) of finding and using evidence is growing rapidly, with increased recognition that decisions should be based on sound evidence. Key to finding this evidence is effective searching. Alongside this imperative, the searching context is becoming more complex. The number of articles indexed is enormous and increasing. In the medical field, PubMed contains over 24 million citations with over 1 million entered in 2014. Effective searching requires an understanding of database mechanisms and the terminology (including associated thesauri) of each subject. Searchers need an understanding of the requirements of the end user: what is considered relevant and what are the levels of evidence? We suggest that a scientific approach be taken to the searching process, to ensure that the best available evidence is found, and that search methodology is tested and validated. What methods can we employ to indicate what we might have missed in our search? Search results should be tested and results fed back into the search, to improve searching effectiveness and thereby outcomes for the end user. Search filters are validated search strategies, created using known methodology, for a given bibliographic database. The relevant terminology and database mechanisms are built into a strategy that is created from, and tested against, subsets of a gold standard set of references. Results are screened by external reviewers with expert subject knowledge, to minimise bias. The search filter performance is rated for precision and sensitivity, to provide known effectiveness in a standard set that can be extrapolated to open search. Details of the methodology and the filter performance are published for transparency. CareSearch and Flinders Filters have developed a number of subject-based search filters. This paper discusses the importance of evidence-based searching; how these search filters are developed and lessons for general searching in scientific literature

Palliative Care Knowledge for All Australians: Librarians’ Work within a Multidisciplinary Team Creating a National Health Knowledge Network

This work is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/This paper introduces Australia’s CareSearch Palliative Care Knowledge network, outlining its information services, underpinning principle of evidence-based information and the contribution of librarians, integral to the multidisciplinary team. CareSearch is a federal government-funded project to provide relevant and trustworthy information to clinicians, patients, carers and families about all aspects of palliative care. This subject touches all Australians at some point. The information provided must be accurate, accessible and tailored to users’ needs. CareSearch emphasises the importance of evidence-based information to support the best possible care for those at the end of life and their loved ones. CareSearch identifies and enables access to evidence and uses evidence-based research approaches in designing and developing the service. This complex project employs a multidisciplinarily skilled team, with a wide range of expertise including medicine, nursing, web technology, education, marketing and informatics. Librarians bring information management expertise into the pool of skills in CareSearch, undertaking identification, classification and organisation of resources. They work with clinicians to ensure relevancy and accuracy, with website technicians for best practice navigation, and with marketing professionals for effective communication. A key innovative aspect of CareSearch’s information service provision is the creation of subject-based search filters to target the best available evidence about palliative care (and related topics) in the published medical literature. The librarians at CareSearch and its associated project Flinders Filters follow established methodology to create and test search strategies using a gold standard set of references, advised by external clinical experts. The search filter embeds technical searching expertise into a search strategy link for clinicians to do a reliable real time search. Search filters are embedded throughout the website in clinical evidence pages, as URLs to take clinicians directly into PubMed in hundreds of searches on topics of relevance to palliative care