Articles
CAPHIS
Kudos
Congratulations to our own
Roz Dudden. She was one of six candidates recently elected by the Section
Council for the MLA Nominating Committee. The
new members of the nominating committee are:
Nancy Allee, Public Health/HA
Peg
Allen, NAHRS
Rosalind Dudden, CAPHIS
Gale
Dutcher, Medical Library Education
Terry
Ann Jankowski, Public Services
Jett
McCann, Leadership & Management
New
Consumer Health Award from NCLIS The U.S. National Commission
on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) has announced the first nationwide
award for libraries with exemplary consumer health information programs.
In May 2006, 52 state winners will be selected, and of them 9 libraries
will get a cash prize of $1,000, and one library will receive a $20,000
cash prize. The application due date is January 31, 2006.
Click
here for more information: http://www.nclis.gov/award/background.htm
MLA
2005
Annual
Business Meeting
Twenty-nine CAPHIS members attended
the section’s annual business meeting, held in San
Antonio on May
18, 2005. Minutes of the meeting can be found at : http://caphis.mlanet.org/activities/caphisminutes2005.html
Program
Reviews
Interesting
C.E. Classes at MLA
Among the continuing education
classes offered at this year’s MLA conference were two that are useful
for consumer health librarians.
An Evidence-based Approach
to Complementary and Alternative Medicine, taught by Stephanie Weldon
from the University
of Colorado, provided
an overview of the history and growth in popularity of alternative medicine
in the United States.
From there, we moved on to an introduction to evidence-based practice,
using the PICO format to evaluate information. This consists of Patient
population, Intervention or interest, Comparison, and Outcome. We examined
a variety of free and fee-based online sources to see what they offered
in terms of evidence-based literature on alternative therapies. Among
those were PubMed, Memorial Sloan Kettering, Cochrane, HerbMed, Infopoems,
and StatRef. Although most consumer health libraries do not have funds
for these expensive databases, it is nice to be familiar with them.
It is also nice to know that one can find good, evidence-based information
free on PubMed, Memorial Sloan Kettering, and InformedHealth Online,
the free version of Cochrane. We also prepared a plan for a class and
outreach for the public which included choosing a topic and preparing
marketing and evaluation tools. The course information is online at
http://denison.uchsc.edu/education/cam2/.
Data Detective: Finding
the Jewels of Public Health Datasets provided an introduction to
basic statistics and an overview of online resources for locating them.
The instructor, Hongjie Wang, is at the University of Connecticut Health
Center. He explained the elements of data and demonstrated a variety
of online resources for learning about and locating statistics. These
included the CDC Wonder, WISQARS, the census, and Cancer Query Systems.
It was “quick and dirty”. We covered lots of material fast. It would
have been better as a longer, hands-on class, but it provided useful
information that will help with reference questions. This course material
is online at http://libdatabase.uchc.edu/Wang/search.asp.
If you are interested in
these topics and did not have a chance to take the classes, visit the
websites for some independent study.
Barbara
M. Bibel, Oakland Public Library, Oakland, CA.
Upcoming
MLA Conference Locations
Looking
ahead, here are the dates and locations of upcoming MLA meetings:
2006 Phoenix,
AZ
2007 Philadelphia,
PA
2008 Chicago,
IL
2009 Hawaii
2010 Washington,
D.C.
Book
Reviews
Delmolino,
Lara and Harris, Sandra L. Incentives for Change: Motivating People
with Autism Spectrum Disorders to Learn and Gain Independence. 1st ed. Woodbine
House, 2004. 145p. (Topics in Autism) Illus. Index. $17.95 U.S.
ISBN 1-890627-60-7.
Knowing the importance of
motivation in the lives of people with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD),
and the challenge facing parents and teachers involved with such children
and adults, Lara Delmolino and Sandra Harris draw upon their years of
experience with autistic people of all ages to produce this invaluable
guide. The authors lead the reader logically, step by step, through
identifying reinforcing behaviors to using various techniques/methods
to help children and adults with ASD be motivated to learn, communicate
basic needs, make choices, and master as many basic self-management
skills as possible.
Each chapter begins with
a case study about a family with a child or young adult with ASD. A
discussion follows with new concepts and techniques explained in an
easy-to understand way. Practical tips and implementation strategies
are included and instructions, examples, and checklists are given in
tabular form or as figures. Each chapter ends with a summary and references.
There are 13 tables and 18
figures throughout the book. Printed against a gray background, they
stand out and are easy to find. However, I am disappointed that there
is no separate listing of them following the Table of Contents.
Also worthy of note are the
“troubleshooting” sections that offer practical suggestions for potential
problems, and the illustrations that help clarify points and reinforce
ideas.
Incentives for Change
is an excellent resource guide for parents, teachers, and anyone involved
with people who have Autism Spectrum Disorders. It offers practical
instruction and hope. Highly recommended for consumer health collections.
Reviewed by: Glynis Sheppard,
Consumer Health Information Service, Toronto
Reference Library, Toronto,
ON
Selling
Sickness. Video. 52 min. color. First Run/Icarus Films, 2004. VHS
and DVD $390; rental $75.
The creation of new of diseases
earns $20 billion annually for drug companies. Called “condition branding”,
advertising agencies take a common condition such as shyness and turn
it into a disease called “Social Anxiety Disorder”. With infomercials
packaged as news releases and aggressive marketing of prescription drugs
to physicians and the public, there is an unhealthy relationship between
society, medical science, and the pharmaceutical industry. This Australian
documentary, co-written by Dr. David Healy, a psychiatrist, and Ray
Moynihan, a health journalist and guest editor for The British Medical
Journal, examines this state of affairs. Using commentary from drug
company consultants, patients, researchers, patient advocates, advertisers,
and attorneys, the film shows how drug companies promote their products.
They visit trade shows and continuing education conferences, speak with
patients, and attend FDA hearings on Capitol Hill to look at SSRI anti-depressants,
marketed as safe, non-addictive medications for anxiety and shyness
as well as depression. Commentary from patients who found themselves
addicted and parents who lost children to suicide provides a stark contrast
to the slick advertisements in medical journals and on television. The
film also looks at the role of pharmaceutical manufacturers in clinical
trials.
This video raises important
questions at a time when we are questioning the relationship of drug
companies and regulatory agencies. It would be useful as part of a program
about advertising prescription drugs. It is also a good companion to
Marcia Angell’s book, The Truth About the Drug Companies: How They
Deceive Us and What To Do About It (Random House, 2004. $24.95.
ISBN 0375508465).
Reviewed
by: Barbara M. Bibel, Oakland Public Library,
Oakland, CA.
Margolis,
M.D., Ph.D., Simeon, (ed). The Johns Hopkins
Complete Guide
to Symptoms & Remedies. Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers,
2004. 736p. illus. index. $19.95. ISBN 1-57912-402-X.
Questions about symptoms
and their meaning are common at the reference desk. Although librarians
cannot diagnose, they can offer patrons information to share with their
physicians. This book from Johns Hopkins has two parts. The first is
a series of charts covering specific symptoms, arranged alphabetically
from abdominal pain through wheezing. The charts are color coded with
columns for associated symptoms, possible diagnosis, and distinguishing
features. The information here is vague, so users will want to consult
the second part of the book. This is an alphabetical catalogue of diseases
and conditions. The one-page entries include a brief description, causes,
prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and when to call a doctor. There are
some illustrations. A box at the bottom of the page lists symptoms.
Although patrons need more extensive information from sources such as
the Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine to understand an illness, this
is a good introduction for those who insist on looking at a book about
symptoms.
Reviewed
by: Barbara M. Bibel, Oakland Public Library,
Oakland, CA.
Montz, F.J.,
Bristow, Robert E., Anastasia, Paula J. A Guide to Survivorship for
Women with Ovarian Cancer. Baltimore:
Johns Hopkins
University
Press,
2005. x, 209p. ISBN 0-8018-8091-2. pbk. $15.95
The authors, two physicians
and a nurse, emphasize learning about cancer so patients can be in control
of decisions affecting their care, treatment, and subsequent life.
About 30% of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer will be cured, but
for many it becomes a chronic disease. Thus, setting individualized
goals and maintaining a positive attitude are parts of survivorship.
This “Guide” first defines
types of ovarian cancer, risk factors, and symptoms, then details surgery,
chemotherapy and “comprehensive care.” Surgical information includes
cancer staging, extent of surgery (debulking), second-look laparoscopy,
secondary debulking for recurrence, and palliative surgery.
Chemotherapy for epithelial
and non-epithelial ovarian cancers is described: drugs, catheter access,
and coping mechanisms. Other possible treatments are mentioned, such
as hormonal and gene therapy, anticancer antibodies, immunotherapy,
and research trials. One of the best chapters is on the side effects
of chemotherapy, which covers prevention of infection while immunosuppressed,
anemia, nausea and anti-nausea drugs, diarrhea, fatigue, neuropathies,
“chemo brain” (memory changes), etc.
The authors summarize complementary
therapies that their patients have found helpful – aromatherapy, yoga,
acupuncture, diet supplements, and others. Separate chapters cover
nutrition, pain control, “image recovery,” and social needs of the patient
and her family. Guidelines for recurrent disease (55% of cases) are
explained, and moving yet realistic sections discuss end-of-life decisions
and dealing with loss.
This book is written at a
high school level and would be a good first choice for one newly diagnosed
with ovarian cancer. It is very readable and includes comments from
the authors and some of their patients. A short list of resource organizations
and an index are included. Readers may supplement this with titles
such as Conner and Langford’s Ovarian Cancer, Your Guide to Taking
Control (2003), that provide more technical details on disease process,
clinical trials, and legal issues.
Reviewed
by: Nancy Crossfield, Saint Agnes Medical Library, Fresno,
CA
Windelspecht,
Michael, (ed.) Human Body Systems. 10v. Greenwood
,
2004. illus. index. $399.95 set; $65.00/volume. ISBN 0-313-33119-7.
Patrons often want information
about how the body works to help them understand or prevent illness.
This ten-volume set from Greenwood
provides a good introduction. With volumes covering the nervous system
and sense organs, the reproductive system, the endocrine system, the
lymphatic system, the circulatory system, the muscular system, the skeletal
system, the digestive system, the urinary system, and the respiratory
system, it offers a complete tour of the body. Each volume contains
an overview of the anatomy and physiology of the organs and system,
coverage of common malfunction and diseases, diagnosis and treatment
of these conditions, and fascinating facts about the system. It also
has details about the history and medical discoveries related to the
system and the researchers involved and about current research in progress.
Each volume has a glossary, a list of organizations and Web sites, a
bibliography, and an index. Illustrations, diagrams, and tables help
readers understand the text. These volumes will appeal to students doing
reports as well as patients and families who want to understand a disease
process. The literacy level is high-school. Librarians may purchase
individual volumes or the entire set. Although this makes a nice reference
set, it is published as a series, so there is no comprehensive index.
This is a minor inconvenience since the volumes are clearly labeled.
The set is a good addition to consumer health and public library collections.
Reviewed by: Barbara M. Bibel,
Oakland Public Library, Oakland, CA.
Wood, M.
Sandra. Internet Guide to Cosmetic Surgery for Women. Haworth
Press, 2005. ISBN 0-7890-1066-6;
paper 0-7890-1067-4.
As cosmetic surgery becomes
acceptable and even chic in mainstream society, more women consider
it as an option to improve their appearance or fight the signs of aging.
Since all surgical procedures have risks, women thinking about an operation
that may radically alter the way they look will want to make sure that
they fully understand the procedure. M. Sandra Wood, an experienced
medical librarian, has written a guide that will help women make informed
decisions about cosmetic surgical procedures.
Since the Internet has become
a major source of medical information, Ms. Wood teaches women how to
use it. She explains the structure of the World Wide Web, the use of
browsers, search engines, and mega-sites, along with basic search strategies.
She also shows them how to evaluate the quality of the information that
they find and recommends specific sites with reliable information about
cosmetic surgery. These include MedlinePlus, sites from professional
medical specialty boards, a few sites created by patients who describe
their experiences. She covers choosing a physician, general information
about surgery, and specific procedures such as liposuction, rhinoplasty,
and breast surgery as well as hair transplantation, cosmetic dentistry,
scar and tattoo removal, and Botox injections. Ms. Wood even includes
information cosmetic surgeons in other countries. This comprehensive
guide to online information about cosmetic surgery is a valuable resource
for any woman considering a procedure. It belongs in all medical, consumer
health, and public libraries.
Reviewed by: Barbara M. Bibel,
M.A., M.L.S., consumer health information specialist, Oakland Public
Library, Oakland, CA.
Publication
Information
Statement
Consumer Connections
(ISSN 1535-7821) is the newsletter of the Consumer
and Patient Information Section of the Medical LibraryAssociation and
is published quarterly.
Content for each issue is
cumulated online at http://caphis.mlanet.org/newsletter,
primarily during the first two months of the quarter; the issue is considered
complete at the end of the quarter. Notification of publication is sent
quarterly via the CAPHIS listserv. Newsletter articles and book reviews
are copyrighted; please contact the editor for reprint permission.
Submissions
Please submit items for Consumer
Connections during the third quarter for publication in the following
quarter.
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Please send submissions in
electronic format to the editors:
Howard Fuller
E -mail: hfuller@stanfordmed.org
Telephone: (650) 725-3308
or
Nancy Dickenson
E -mail: ndickenson@stanfordmed.org
Telephone: (650) 725-8100
FAX: (650) 725-1444
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