Journal of Medical Library and Information Science

Introduction: Accountable education is an educational approach that addresses society’s information, knowledge, and skill-related needs and expectations; consequently, it is important in medical librarianship and information science. This study examines the status of accountable education—across the Context, Process, Input, and Output dimensions—within medical librarianship and information science, from the perspectives of faculty members and graduate students at Iranian universities of medical sciences.

Methods: This study employed a descriptive-analytical survey design. The statistical population consisted of all faculty members and graduate students (Master’s and PhD levels) in Medical Librarianship and Information Science departments across the country in 2021. the population comprised 41 faculty members and 140 graduate students. Data were collected using a self-report questionnaire; subject-matter experts and faculty members in the field confirmed its validity, and reliability was calculated using Cronbach’s alpha (exceeding 0.98). Data analysis was performed using SPSS 31, using descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, and median) and analytical tests (independent t-test and one-way ANOVA).

Results: The overall standardized mean score for accountable education in medical librarianship and information sciences is 0.520 ± 0.171, indicating a moderate level. The Output dimension scored highest among the categories, with a mean of 0.55 and a standard deviation of 0.189; within this dimension, the item “Graduates' familiarity with and proficiency in using various print, electronic, and web-based resources” achieved the highest mean score (0.62). The Context dimension ranked next, with a mean of 0.54 and a standard deviation of 0.17; the item “The educational group has a strategic plan” secured the highest score (0.62) in this category.

Conclusion: The study concludes that the Output dimension ranked highest, while the Process dimension ranked lowest regarding the implementation of accountable education in medical librarianship and information science in Iran. The findings suggest that the Input and Process dimensions within medical sciences universities are not at a desirable level for accountable education in this field.

of two or more journals. This descriptive study examines how common and concentrated multiple editorial memberships are across Iranian medical science journals and considers their potential implications for editorial governance.

Methods: A cross-sectional review of journal websites identified 11,451 editorial appointments across 403 of the 429 Iranian medical science journals listed in the Iranian Research Information System. Data were collected from July to October 2025. Names were manually disambiguated, and descriptive analyses quantified the distribution of editorial appointments among the identified individuals.

Results: A total of 8,780 individuals held editorial appointments. Of these, 1,509 (17.2%) served on the editorial teams of two or more journals, accounting for 4,180 appointments (36.5% of all appointments). Most individuals with multiple memberships served at two or three journals (1,271; 84.2%). Eighteen individuals held ten or more memberships, collectively accounting for 230 appointments (2.0% of the total). The highest number of memberships held by any one individual was 29.

Conclusion: Although holding multiple memberships may facilitate the exchange of editorial experience, it also raises concerns about editorial commitments, potential conflicts of interest, and recruitment practices. Appointment counts alone do not adequately reflect workload, decision-making authority, actual conflicts of interest, or editorial independence. These potential governance implications call for further investigation. The documented patterns support considering transparent appointment criteria, clearly defined role expectations, and regular reviews of editorial memberships.

Introduction: The digital divide in higher education affects both access to technology and its effective use. This study examined the digital divide among faculty members at Golestan University of Medical Sciences and explored the relationships among ICT literacy, practical skills, and teaching/research requirements.

 Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2024 among 95 faculty members selected from a total of 333 via convenience sampling. Data were collected using a validated questionnaire comprising five sections: demographic information; access to and use of information and communication technology (ICT); ICT literacy; practical abilities and skills in using ICTs; and educational and research requirements. Descriptive statistics, the Shapiro-Wilk test for normality, Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests for group comparisons, and Spearman’s correlation for relationships between ICT dimensions were applied using SPSS.

 Results: Indicators of ICT access showed no substantial access-based digital divide: 94.7% of participants reported high-speed internet access at home, 89.5% used ICTs several times per day, and 65.3% reported more than three hours of daily ICT use. However, mean scores for ICT literacy (22.58 ± 5.36 out of 32), practical ICT skills (109.39 ± 27.34 out of 160), and educational and research requirements (28.55 ± 8.33 out of 36) indicated moderate competency levels. Faculty members from clinically oriented schools, particularly Medicine and Dentistry, consistently obtained lower mean scores across these dimensions. Strong and statistically significant correlations were observed between ICT literacy and practical skills (r = 0.605, p < 0.001) and between practical skills and educational and research requirements (r = 0.653, p < 0.001).

 Conclusion: At Golestan University of Medical Sciences, while ICT access is largely achieved, skill-based challenges remain, particularly in clinically oriented faculties. The interconnection among ICT literacy, practical skills, and teaching/research requirements indicates that the observed digital divide is primarily skills- and outcome-based rather than access-related, and that improvements in one dimension can support gains in others.

Introduction: The relationship between religion and health has attracted increasing scholarly attention, especially regarding Islam and Christianity as the world’s two largest religions. This study aimed to compare health-related scientific publications on Islam and Christianity indexed in the Web of Science (WoS) using a scientometric approach.

Methods: This descriptive quantitative study employed scientometric analysis and co-authorship network mapping. Bibliographic data were retrieved from the WoS Core Collection on May 20, 2022, using search strategies based on key religion-related terms (e.g., Islam, Muslim, Quran; Christianity, Christian, Bible) combined with health- and medicine-related keywords. After screening titles and abstracts to remove irrelevant records, the remaining data were exported in TXT format and analyzed using EndNote, Microsoft Excel, and VOSviewer. Publication trends, citation patterns, prolific countries, organizations, journals, authors, and keyword and co-authorship networks were examined.

Results: A total of 3,747 Islam-related and 2,756 Christianity-related health publications were included. Pakistan, the USA, and Iran were the leading producers of Islam-related publications, while the USA, England, and India were most productive for Christianity. The Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association was the most prolific journal for Islam, and Mental Health, Religion & Culture ranked first for Christianity. Co-authorship networks showed broader international collaboration in Christianity-related research, while collaboration in Islam-related publications was more concentrated. Despite growth in publication output in both Islam- and Christianity-related health research, citation impact did not increase proportionally in either domain.

Conclusion: Health-related publications on Islam and Christianity have grown across the past decade; however, their citation impact remains limited. Strengthening research quality, visibility, and international collaboration may enhance the overall contribution of religion-and-health scholarship.

Introduction: As cloud computing expands in higher education and academic research, understanding faculty members’ attitudes toward this technology has become increasingly critical. This research sought to develop and evaluate the psychometric qualities of a valid instrument for assessing faculty members’ attitudes toward cloud computing.

Methods: As a methodological cross-sectional study, it was carried out in two phases: Instrument development and psychometric testing. The population included all faculty members at Hamadan University of Medical Sciences in 2024, and a sample of 217 was determined using the Morgan table and a random sampling method. Data analysis was performed using confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis and SPSS and AMOS version 23 software.

 Results: After assessing the face and content validity of the initial 34-item questionnaire, four items were removed. Exploratory factor analysis then organized the remaining 30 items into six factors: “infrastructure,” “software,” “network,” “flexibility,” “costs,” and “security,” which collectively accounted for 74.2% of the overall variance. The reliability of the instrument was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha, yielding a coefficient of 0.935. Additionally, CFA (χ2 [368] = 1079.178, P < 0.001, GFI = 0.901, CMIN / DF = 2.93, NFI = 0.811, RMSEA = 0.078) demonstrated a good model fit, with all factors showing statistical significance.

Conclusion: The findings confirm that the developed questionnaire is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing faculty attitudes and key service dimensions (infrastructure, software, network, flexibility, costs, and security) of cloud computing in academic contexts. By providing a concise and comprehensive evaluation tool, this study makes a meaningful contribution to the systematic assessment of cloud computing in medical universities and supports future research and informed decision-making.

Introduction: Infodemiology examines the distribution and determinants of health information in digital environments. Social media platforms, particularly Instagram, played a substantial role in disseminating Covid-19–related information during the pandemic. This study aims to conduct an infodemiological analysis of Persian-language Instagram posts during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Methods: This retrospective study employed a combined qualitative screening and quantitative descriptive analysis approach.  The study population consisted of 2,000 publicly available Persian-language Instagram posts retrieved using the hashtags “Corona” and “Covid-19.” Posts were selected through Instagram’s “Top Posts” sorting function available at the time of data extraction. For each hashtag, the first 1,000 posts were collected. Data collection was conducted between November 6 and December 6, 2021. Three reviewers independently screened all retrieved posts for relevance to Covid-19, and discrepancies were resolved through consensus. Duplicate posts identified during the retrieval process were manually excluded. Relevant posts were archived using coded screenshots due to Instagram storage limitations. Data extracted from each post included content format, publication location, whether content creator identification information was available in the post or account, and, when available, the content creator’s professional background. For posts in which the content creator’s professional background could be identified, professions were classified as medically relevant or non-medically relevant. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS and Excel, with descriptive statistics including frequencies and percentages.

Results: Of the 2,000 posts analyzed, 72.1% were unrelated to the specified hashtags or the Covid-19 disease. Among the 558 relevant posts, 83.51% used an image-caption format. The publication location was unspecified in 74.91% of these posts. Furthermore, 90.68% lacked identifying information about the content creator, and 51.43% did not mention the creator’s professional background within the post or account.

Conclusion: A small proportion of the examined Instagram posts contained relevant Covid-19 information, and most lacked transparent authorship and professional attribution, limiting the ability to assess information quality. These findings highlight the need for improved health information governance in social media environments. Medical librarians, especially in hospital libraries and public libraries, as key stakeholders in health information management, can play an essential role in evidence-based content evaluation, curation, and dissemination in digital ecosystems. Strengthening their involvement alongside health systems may enhance the quality and reliability of online health information.

Introduction: Regenerative medicine (RM) is one of the fastest-growing fields of biomedical innovation. Patent analysis provides valuable insights into technological development and global innovation trends. This study aimed to analyze worldwide patent activity in RM between 2005 and 2025.

 Methods: This applied study employed a descriptive-analytical patentometric approach. Patent data were retrieved from the Orbit Intelligence database using a structured search strategy that applied the term “RM” to the title, abstract, and claims fields. Granted and expired patent families published between 2005 and 2025 were included, resulting in 10,475 records. The data were retrieved on 25 October 2025, and data cleaning and analysis were performed using Python. Temporal trends, leading countries, major assignees, and technological domains were analyzed.

 Results: The temporal distribution of patents showed a gradual increase from 2005 to 2012, followed by a pronounced acceleration from 2015 to 2020, during which nearly half of all identified patents were issued. Patent activity peaked in 2018–2019 before experiencing a moderate decline. China (41.41%) and the United States (31.95%) together accounted for nearly three-quarters of all RM patents, highlighting their leading roles in shaping global innovation. South Korea ranked third (8.5%), while Germany, Russia, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, and Canada constituted a secondary group of contributors. Analysis of technological domains indicated that pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and medical technology represented the most active areas within the RM patent landscape.

 Conclusion: The findings demonstrate the rapid expansion and consolidation of RM technologies and highlight the value of patent-based intelligence for informing research priorities, investment strategies, technology management, and future innovation in this evolving field.

Introduction: Beyond empowering teachers to care for their own well-being, health literacy can shape students’ lifestyles and society through role modeling. This study investigated health literacy among public secondary school teachers.

Methods: This cross-sectional survey included all public secondary school teachers (n = 150) in Azarshahr, East Azerbaijan, Iran, through a census. The questionnaire link was sent via the Department of Education, with 136 teachers responding. Data were collected from July 23 to November 30, 2020, using the validated HELIA questionnaire.  Data analysis was performed using descriptive and inferential statistics with the help of SPSS and Excel software.

Results:  The main sources of health information were the Internet (62.5%), consulting health professionals (22.1%), and radio/television (11.8%). Dimension mean scores were 3.90 for access, 3.99 for reading, 4.23 for understanding, 3.90 for evaluation, and 3.89 for decision-making/behavior, with a total mean of 3.92 (out of 5). Health literacy levels showed 48.53% sufficient, 27.21% excellent, 18.38% not quite sufficient, and 5.88% Insufficient. No significant differences were found by gender or field of study (P > 0.05). Age and work experience showed a significant negative correlation with health literacy (P ≤ 0.05).

Conclusion: Given teachers’ primary reliance on the Internet for health information and their satisfactory level of health literacy, digital platforms offer promising capacity-building opportunities. The absence of significant differences in health literacy of respondents based on gender and field of study supports universal training initiatives, though older and more experienced teachers should be prioritized for health literacy training.

Cancer stigma represents a significant barrier to cancer prevention and early detection. One of the less-examined mechanisms through which stigma operates is its influence on health information avoidance. This study explores how cancer stigma may lead individuals to avoid cancer-related information through mechanisms such as identity threat, anticipated stigma, and internalized stigma. Avoidance of health information can contribute to delays in seeking medical care, reduced participation in screening programs, and diagnosis at more advanced stages of disease. Evidence suggests that these processes are shaped by cultural beliefs, social norms, and structural inequalities, and may be intensified among vulnerable populations. In addition, social capital—including trust, supportive networks, and shared social norms—may play an important role in moderating or amplifying the effects of stigma on health information avoidance. Therefore, addressing cancer stigma should be considered a central component of cancer control strategies and requires multi-level interventions at individual, social, and structural levels to promote health information seeking, increase participation in screening, and improve early detection.