Searching for evidence in public health emergencies: a white paper of best practices

Authors

Stacy Brody, George Washington University
Sara Loree, St. Luke’s Health System
Margaret Sampson, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute
Shaila Mensinkai, Librarian Reserve Corps
Jennifer Coffman, University of Virginia
Mark Heinrich Mueller, Saskatchewan Health Authority
Nicole Askin, University of Manitoba
Cheryl Hamill, South and East Metropolitan Health Services
Emma Wilson, University of Edinburgh
Mary Beth McAteer, Virginia Mason Medical Center
Heather Staines, Delta Think

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

4-21-2023

Journal

Journal of the Medical Library Association

Volume

111

Issue

1/2

DOI

10.5195/jmla.2023.1530

Keywords

Collaboration, Emergency Response, Rapid Review, Systematic Review, Methods, Information Retrieval

Abstract

Objectives: Information professionals have supported medical providers, administrators and decision-makers, and guideline creators in the COVID-19 response. Searching COVID-19 literature presented new challenges, including the volume and heterogeneity of literature and the proliferation of new information sources, and exposed existing issues in metadata and publishing. An expert panel developed best practices, including recommendations, elaborations, and examples, for searching during public health emergencies.

Methods: Project directors and advisors developed core elements from experience and literature. Experts, identified by affiliation with evidence synthesis groups, COVID-19 search experience, and nomination, responded to an online survey to reach consensus on core elements. Expert participants provided written responses to guiding questions. A synthesis of responses provided the foundation for focus group discussions. A writing group then drafted the best practices into a statement. Experts reviewed the statement prior to dissemination.

Results: Twelve information professionals contributed to best practice recommendations on six elements: core resources, search strategies, publication types, transparency and reproducibility, collaboration, and conducting research. Underlying principles across recommendations include timeliness, openness, balance, preparedness, and responsiveness.

Conclusions: The authors and experts anticipate the recommendations for searching for evidence during public health emergencies will help information specialists, librarians, evidence synthesis groups, researchers, and decision-makers respond to future public health emergencies, including but not limited to disease outbreaks. The recommendations complement existing guidance by addressing concerns specific to emergency response. The statement is intended as a living document. Future revisions should solicit input from a broader community and reflect conclusions of meta-research on COVID-19 and health emergencies.

Comments

Copyright (c) 2023 Stacy Brody, Sara Loree, Margaret Sampson, Shaila Mensinkai, Jennifer Coffman, Mark Heinrich Mueller, Nicole Askin, Cheryl Hamill, Emma Wilson, Mary Beth McAteer, Heather Staines, Best Practices for Searching During Public Health Emergencies Working Group

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

APA Citation

Brody, S., Loree, S., Sampson, M., Mensinkai, S., Coffman, J., Heinrich Mueller, M., Askin, N., Hamill, C., Wilson, E., McAteer, M., & Staines, H. (2023). Searching for evidence in public health emergencies: a white paper of best practices. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 111 (1/2). http://dx.doi.org/10.5195/jmla.2023.1530

Peer Reviewed

1

Open Access

1