Journal of Medical Library and Information Science

Introduction: The knowledge of dental research productivity helps to provide oversight on current dental research capacity and gaps. Hence, this study aims to evaluate the dental research productivity of the universities in the North East of England (NEE).

Methods: This is a bibliometric review collecting data on the dental publications of the five NEE universities from SCOPUS. Collected data were analysed using the Microsoft Excel 2021 software.

Results: Dentistry was the health science subject area with the lowest volume of research productivity in two-fifth of the NEE universities. The NEE universities contributed <4% of the total dental research publications in the UK. Newcastle University was the NEE university with the highest volume of dental research productivity. The level of inter-institutional dental research collaborations among the NEE universities was very low. The USA-based institutions were the most productive foreign institutions collaborating with NEE universities. The study identified the five most published dental researchers at the NEE universities. Accordingly, each NEE universities had at least 15.8% of its total dental research publications in the British Dental Journal.

Conclusion: The findings from this study reflect the dental research productivity of NEE universities. The dental research capacity of universities in the NEE needs to be strengthened.

Introduction: The present study assessed the frequency of library use, level of utilization of library resources, and staff attitude displayed towards nursing students in Edo State College of Nursing Sciences (EDOCNS).

Methods: The study undertook a cross-sectional design using quantitative research. A structured questionnaire was the instrument for data collection, and copies were administered to 100 respondents sampled from 300 students in the Nursing and Midwifery department. A stratified random sampling technique was adopted to select fifty in The Nursing department and 50 students in the Midwifery department. Percentage, mean, and standard deviation were used in data analysis, and regression analysis was used to test the hypothesis that staff attitude has a significant effect on the level of nursing students’ utilization of library resources at EDOCNS.

Results: The study revealed that most nursing students utilized the library once a week (26%) for reprographic purposes (mean score of 3.1). Generally, nursing students utilized library resources at a low level (Average mean of 2.3), and that library personnel displayed a negative attitude toward nursing students (Average mean of 2.2). The study showed that negative staffattitude has a significant (R²= 0.469, β= 0.13, t = 1.88, p= 0.13) effect on the level of nursing students’ utilization of library resources at EDOCNS.

Conclusion: The study indicated that library staff displayed a negative attitude toward nursing students, which has led to the low utilization of library resources; thus, recommending training for all library staff on service delivery to library users at EDOCNS.

Introduction:  As the significant pandemic of the millennium, COVID-19 attracted research interest worldwide, and many papers have been published on the topic and increasingly shared in different social media. This study aimed to estimate the presence of COVID-19 papers in social media.

Methods: In this altmetric survey, Altmetric Explorer was used for data extraction. A comprehensive unlimited search was done on 9 July 2022 for COVID-19 papers mentioned at least once on social media. All 162,068 related papers as the study population was analyzed in Excel 2016 and SPSS v22.

Results: 151,956 COVID-19 papers (93.76%) were mentioned at least once on social media. Most papers (100,295) were within the altmetric attention score ranging from 1-10. As the top-ranked source, Twitter mentioned 144,073 papers (88.90%), followed by Mendeley, covering 129,328 (79.79%), papers and News Outlet covering 39,445 papers (24.33%). Most Twitter, Facebook, and News users were from the USA and the UK. "MedRexiv" ranked first with mentioning 10,971 papers, followed by the British Medical Journal with 2,122 mentioned papers and the Lancet with 692 mentioned papers. In the top highly-mentioned papers, some central aspects of the disease, such as its prevention, treatment, and vaccination, were considered as main public concerns.

Conclusions: COVID-19 research has been increasingly presented in social media, which is a sign of considering COVID-19 as a primary human concern. Thus, social media platforms have a prominent role in the reach and visibility of research output in COVID-19.

Introduction: Systematic reviews and meta-analyses have been placed at the summit of the evidence pyramid in the evidence-based medicine paradigm, specifically in Cardiac and Cardiovascular Systems. Scientometric investigation can provide useful insight into the field's scholarly communications. Therefore, this study is an attempt at to scientometric study of the highly cited systematic reviews and meta-analysis articles of cardiac and cardiovascular systems category based on the Web of Science (WoS).

Methods: This scientometric study focused on highly cited articles retrieved from the WoS between July 20 and July 27, 2019. After multiple phases of screening the retrieved articles, 150 articles formed the current research population. This study examined several articles in systematic review and meta-analysis, the publication trend, the status of authors' countries, authors’ affiliation, and the published sources of the articles.

Results: Meta-analysis articles account for 52% of the research population. The largest share of the highly cited papers was for 2018. The results showed that 61.3% of the studies were conducted through international cooperation. Researchers in the USA, England, Netherlands, and Canada have conducted most studies—the most significant number of the articles published in the American College of Cardiology and European Heart Journal. Most highly cited articles (79.33%) were published in Q1 journals.

Conclusion: The publication of the highly cited articles has significantly benefited from international collaboration. Researchers from the United States, the Netherlands, England, and Canada significantly contributed to the articles' production. The highly cited papers have been published in the most prestigious journals.

Introduction: The information-seeking behavior of the elderly, the information needs of this group regarding health, and the problems and barriers to accessing this information are of great importance and play an influential role in the self-management process of the elderly. This study aims to investigate the health information-seeking behavior of the elderly in Golestan Province.

Methods: In this survey study, 239 elderly individuals from Golestan Province were included. The Medlock questionnaire was used for data collection. After translating and re-translating the questionnaire, its content, face validity, and reliability were examined. The study participants were selected using a convenience sampling method. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis, including correlation and Poisson regression tests. All analyses were performed using SPSS 26 software at a significance level of 0.05.

Results: The results revealed that the most used and reliable sources by the elderly were “Direct contact with health professionals” (29.29%) and “Television” (19.75%). The highest information searches were in scientific care, nutrition and physical activities, specific disease symptoms and causes, prescribed medications, coping with a disease, side effects of treatment, disease prediction, and treatment methods. A high correlation was found between Trust in Friends/Acquaintances (0.656), Television (0.641), and Radio (0.632) as sources of health information. In contrast, a low correlation was observed between Trust in educational courses and lectures (0.324) and Books/Encyclopedias (0.274) for obtaining health information.

Conclusion: It is necessary to establish a direct communication infrastructure between health professionals and the public through expanding programs such as family physicians and developing evidence-based television programs with a knowledge translation approach. Additionally, future qualitative research is needed to delve into using innovative technologies and improve information-seeking behavior in older individuals.

Introduction: Health literacy includes skills required to make informed personal and social health decisions. Due to the increasing importance of health literacy, it is vital to investigate the quantitative and thematic publication process in this field. This study aims to investigate the publication process and draw a scientific map of articles in health literacy.

Methods: The current research is a descriptive-analytical one. Scientometric techniques were used for anlayzing health literacy publications from 2012 to January 23, 2023 in the PubMed database. RStudio and VOSviewer software were used for data analysis.

Results: In the 12 years under review, 8,242 documents in the field of health literacy have been published. 27,193 authors and 1,588 journals contributed to the publication of these documents. Seven hundred four authors contributed to single-author papers, and 26,489 contributed to multi-author papers. International participation in this area was 11.95%. Wolf MS, Osborne RH, and Paasche-Orlow MK are the most contributing health literacy researchers. America-China registered the most scientific cooperation pairs. The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health has published the most health literacy articles among the journals. The research trend in 2013-2014 was toward teaching and educational principles and methods.

Conclusion: Researchers in the field of health literacy pay special attention to the issue of scientific cooperation. In the reviewed articles, COVID-19 is one of the prominent topics that coincide with the issue of health literacy.

Introduction: Evidence-based medicine (EBM) has received more attention in recent years. The purpose of this study was to evaluate familiarity of academic staff physicians with EBM and its application in daily practice.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2022 with the participation of academic staff physicians of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences in Iran. Data were collected using CEBM questionnaire and were analyzed with SPSS 20 software, using T-test and Spearman correlation statistical tests.

Results: Out of 156 academic staff physicians, 97 (62.2%) completed the questionnaire. Of these, 62 (63.9%) were male, and 33 (34%) had participated in EBM workshops. Mean score of knowledge and attitude questions were 14.7± 3.9 and 3.8± 0.5 respectively. There was no significant difference between males and females in knowledge and attitudes (P >0.05). Physicians who participated in EBM workshops had higher scores in knowledge (P <0.05) but not in attitude (P= 0.06). Positive and significant correlation between age (r = 0.32, P = 0.001) and teaching experience (r = 0.28, P = 0.005) was observed with knowledge and attitude about EBM. 69.1% of participants used very little or not at all EBM in their daily practice. The most important obstacles were lack of time (49.5%) and specific information (22.7%). More than 65% of physicians tended to use EBM in their daily practice.

Conclusion: The academic staff physicians of Hamadan, Iran had a positive attitude towards evidence-based medicine, but did not have enough information in this regard and few of them had participated in training workshops. Accordingly, its application in daily clinical work was relatively low. Holding EBM workshops is essential to increase awareness about EBM.

Introduction: The volume of retracted articles in all fields has increased significantly in recent years. Retracted publications in the medical field may endanger patients' health and cause disturbances in specialists' decisions. Immunology is one of the crucial branches of medicine, so this study is conducted to investigate the reasons for retraction and analyze retracted articles on immunology.

Methods: This scientometric study was done in 2023 on the retracted articles of immunology. The data were obtained from the Web of Science database and were analyzed by R4.2.2, Biblioshiny software, Also, the Retraction Watch database has been used to identify the reasons for retractions.

Results: The findings showed that the retracted immunology articles have increased significantly in recent years. From the 240 retracted immunology publications available in the WoS database, the most significant number of retracted articles were published by "Journal of Immunology" and "UNIV TEXAS" among institutions. The USA contributed the most to producing such articles. The most keywords of retracted articles were expression and activation. Seventy-two immunology journals have published retracted papers on the WoS; most of these were in quartile two journals. The main reason for retracting articles was "Investigation by Company/Institution."

Conclusion: Reviewing the reasons for retracting articles gives editors and editorial boards of journals, authors, and experts' essential information to avoid similar cases. Research ethics guidelines help researchers in producing and publishing authentic articles, so it is recommended that authors be aware of the contents of ethical guidelines.

Introduction: Hospital libraries have a special role in providing knowledge-evidence-based services to their users, including medical staff, patients, and their families. The present study aimed to evaluate the Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MOHME)-affiliated hospital libraries of Iran based on the national standard approved in 2021 by the National Standard Organization.

Methods: The present research is an applied study regarding its purpose and a descriptive survey regarding its method. The study’s statistical population includes 213 hospital libraries of 60 universities of medical sciences affiliated with the MOHME of Iran. The data collection tool is a researcher-made checklist extracted from the national standard book of hospital libraries. SPSS software was used for data analysis.

Results: The obtained results revealed that, in common, less than 50% of the hospital libraries of medical universities in Iran complied with two components of the Organization and nine components of Resources Management standards: five components of Human Resources Management and four components of Physical, Environment, and Equipment Management.

Conclusion: MOHME-affiliated hospital libraries have fundamental weaknesses in the key components of Organization standard and Resource Management standards, i.e., human resource management and physical resource, environment, and equipment management, and do not comply with the standards. Therefore, taking practical measures by officials and stakeholders to improve the services, the quality of patient care, and, ultimately, the satisfaction of patients, their families, and users are essential.

Introduction: By the nature of their work, library professionals are exposed to situations and events affecting their mental health. This could adversely affect their performance in service delivery. However, a paucity of social science literature examines this issue, specifically in developing countries like Nigeria. This study aims to investigate the perceived effect of mental health and its impact on the service delivery of librarians in Academic libraries in Edo State.

Methods: A descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study with a population of 115 library professionals across six academic libraries in Edo State, Nigeria. A structured questionnaire was used to elicit responses from the professionals. Of the 115 copies distributed, 92 were retrieved constituting a 77% response rate. Descriptive statistics was used for data analysis, including mean and standard deviation, with the aid of IBM SPSS version 25.0

Results: The present study found that the library personnel’s awareness of mental health issues was slightly high. The library personnel faced several mental health challenges ranging from frustrations at the workplace, professional challenges/work conflict, anger and confusion to personal challenges. Besides, the study found that mental health issues will significantly influence the service delivery of the library personnel. Strategies for curbing mental health challenges among the personnel were increased awareness, quick response to treatment, enlightenment on self-management, stress management and time management for work-life balance.

Conclusion: The mental well-being of library staff, encompassing emotional, cognitive, and behavioral aspects, plays a substantial role in their workplace performance. Consequently, it directly impacts the quality of service they provide. Therefore, the mental health of library professionals is critical to realizing the library’s objectives.

Introduction: Bibliotherapy is a low-cost and safe way to treat mental health problems. Given that the success of bibliotherapy depends on the positive attitude and familiarity of those involved in this therapy method, this study aims to investigate the familiarity, attitude, and use of bibliotherapy by psychologists working in counseling centers and the barriers and limitations in using bibliotherapy.

Methods: In this practical research, conducted using an analytic survey method in 2020, 101 psychologists working in counseling centers in Hamadan province, Iran, were selected by the census. The survey response rate was 100 %. All data for this study were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire. Its reliability (using the indicator of Cronbach's alpha) and validity (using two indicators of CVI and CVR) were confirmed. The data were analyzed using SPSS software version 25 using frequency distribution, Mann-Whitney, Chi-square, and Kruskal-Wallis tests.

Results: The results showed that more than half of the participants (53.5%) were moderately familiar with the bibliotherapy, and their level of familiarity was less than average; more than half of the participants (55.4%) used moderate bibliotherapy to treat their patient's problems, and their use rate was low to medium levels. However, psychologists' attitudes toward bibliotherapy are positive and higher than average.

Conclusion: Despite bibliotherapy's effectiveness and psychologists' favorable view of it, awareness and utilization remain low, highlighting the need for strategies to enhance the adoption of this therapeutic approach.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has changed how libraries provide services to their users. Social networks became one of the most important ways libraries could communicate with users during that time. This study aims to review articles that have addressed the roles, services, and challenges of libraries in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic on social networks.

Methods: This study is a narrative review. The study population includes English-language articles indexed in reputable databases such as Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and articles retrieved through Google Scholar published in reputable journals.

Results: Libraries have played various roles on social networks during the COVID-19 pandemic, and despite the challenges they faced, they shared their services on these networks with users.

Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has facilitated libraries’ acceptance and use of social networks and has led to the emergence of roles, speed in providing online services, and facing challenges. Familiarity with the different roles of libraries during the COVID-19 pandemic on social networks and utilizing the potential of these networks can provide useful information for policymakers to make informed decisions regarding the use of social networks, which can help make clearer decisions in the future when facing other pandemics and take measures to combat them.

Introduction: information Repackaging is a service that is barely available in the library especially for special needs people. The study assessed the availability and forms of information repackaging for special needs people, also the problems associated with information for special needs people.

Methods: open-ended survey was used to collect data, the data collected from each respondent was availability of information repackaging, forms information is repackaged and problem associated with repackaging information for special need people. Responses were analyzed and coded using thematic analysis procedure by Braun and Clarke. Data was summarized into categories and Frequency which was represented in figures using column Charts.

Results: study revealed information repackaging is partially available for special needs people (50%), the major forms which information is repackaged for special needs people were audio-visuals, charts, posters (100%) and the major problem associated with information repackaging for special needs people was funds (100%).

Conclusion: the study discovered information repackaging is partially available for special needs people indicating that special needs people are not full considered as regards to their needs for information. Thus recommended inclusion for special needs people as regards to information.