Swine Flu Resources

Swine Flu Investigation Page (CDC)

RSS feed on Swine Flu - Get regular updates from the CDC

Google Maps Tool for Tracking Swine Flu (not EBM)

Swine Flu on MedlinePlus for consumer health information

The National Library of Medicine's EnviroHealth web page on Swine Flu
This web page contains information from several US and international agencies and organizations, treatment information, genetic sequence data, information in Spanish, searches of PubMed, the NLM Catalog, and more.

Librarian Secrets to Successful Searching : Focusing Clinical Questions with P-I-C-O

The first step to doing research is to define your topic : What are you looking for?

Example : “Tell me all you know about elderly taxi drivers in Mongolia who have heart attacks while drinking decaffeinated coffee on Friday nights after the bars close and whether prescribing aspirin might help reduce the risk of further heart attacks.”

Break the topic down into individual concepts with P-I-C-O.

P – Patient Population or Problem = Heart Attacks in the Elderly
I – Intervention = Aspirin
C – Comparison = Nothing
O – Outcome = Prevention of future heart attacks

P-I-C-O helps you pick out the important concepts while leaving out some of the extraneous stuff.

The P-I-C-O model helps define and refine a search topic, whether you are searching a powerful database like Medline/PubMed or just Google.

Your Librarians, Michele Matucheski (at MMC) and Margo Lambert (at STE) are available to do the research for you. Just let us know what you’re looking for.

Top Ten Reasons to Use Your Library (whether or not you're involved in patient care)

Number Ten: You will get valuable information to help you make decisions.
Number Nine: You will get more accurate information.
Number Eight: You will make better decisions.

Number Seven: You will save time.

Research can be time-consuming and challenging, but it is one of the more interesting (and enjoyable) tasks for a librarian. Having us handle your research can free up substantial amounts of time for you to take care of other things.

Please contact Michele (223-0340) or Margo (738-2325) for additional information or for help with your project.

Stay tuned for Reason Number Six in a future post.

Source: Special Libraries Association

Joint Commission Manual CAMH Online Access

Access to the E-diton of the Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Hospitals (aka The Joint Commission Manual or CAMH) is once again available on the Affinity Intranet.

Joint Commission Manual - Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Hospitals (CAMH) - Current E-dition
Username and password required. More info below. Affinity access only.

OR

Follow this path to get there :
Affinity Intranet > Library > General Reference Links > Joint Commission Resources > Joint Commission Manual
Note the username and password in the description.

Also available through the Electronic Bookshelf at :
Follow this path to get there :
Affinity Intranet > Library > Find Books > Electronic Bookshelf > Books by Title > Scroll down to Joint Commission Manual
Note Username & Password in the description.

Practice Guidelines – Where to Find Them

Practice Guidelines have become a mainstay of patient care, and have been developed to help caregivers assimilate and apply the ever-expanding (and sometimes contradictory) body of medical knowledge. Below are a few common sources for practice guidelines.

National Guideline Clearinghouse ** Best Bet! **
Comprehensive database of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines. Brief summaries and full-text available in most cases.

AHRQ National Quality Measures Clearinghouse

Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC)
Use the search box.

MDConsult (Affinity access only)
Click the Guidelines Tab to search or browse the collection.

TRIP Database
An evidence-based practice search engine, TRIP covers guidelines.

Professional Associations issue guidelines and practice statements. Some are available on their websites. See the following examples :

American Heart Association – Guidelines & Statements

The American Psychiatric Association – Practice Guidelines

In addition, the CINAHL and Medline databases can effectively be used to identify and locate additional practice guidelines. Use the Practice Guideline Limit to pare down your results.

Affinity Librarians are also available to do the searching for you.
Just tell us what you’re looking for.

Michele (MMC Library in Oshkosh) 3-0340
Margo (STE in Appleton) 8-2325

Harrison's Online

Did you know … Affinity employees have access to Harrison’s Online?

Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine via Books@Ovid
This major reference for clinicians offers strategies for understanding, diagnosing and managing disease.

Harrison’s Manual of Medicine via Books@Ovid
This eBook offers a thorough synopsis of pathogenesis and clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and treatment for each medical condition.

Keep these links handy by

* adding them to your IE favorites or

* adding shortcuts to your desktop.

Access via any Affinity computer.

Browse the other 160+ titles at Books@Ovid (Affinity access only).
See what else is available to you via our Electronic Bookshelf.

How to Check Out Library Materials

The Affinity Libraries offer a wealth of materials for those who care for patients and for those who wish to be well-informed about health and wellness.

In the interest of good stewardship, we need to keep track of who uses library materials so that our collections can continue to be available to Affinity staff members and customers.

Our Simple Procedures for Checking Out Library Materials:

Locate the check-out card(s) on the inside or outside back covers.
Clearly write your full name and department on the card(s)
(No initials, please.)
Drop the card(s) in the black boxes on or near each library’s service desk.
We will verify your contact information in our computer system and check the materials out to you.
Your contact information will be kept confidential. Once we have checked out the material in our computer system, we’ll cross your name off the card(s).
Professional Library materials should be returned in two weeks. Consumer Health materials should be returned in four weeks.
If you do not return your materials on time, we will send you an overdue notice. PLEASE NOTE: WE ARE NOT TRYING TO HARASS YOU. WE ARE SIMPLY TRYING TO GET OUR MATERIALS BACK SO THAT OTHERS CAN USE THEM.

Items marked “Reference” and medical, nursing, and allied health journals are to be used within the library. You are welcome to photocopy information that you need, but these materials may not be checked out because, in most cases, they cannot be replaced.

Again, we want to make sure that library materials are available for anyone who might need health or medical information.

We appreciate your cooperation.

Please contact Margo (738-2324) or Michele (223-0342) if you need additional information.