Healthcare librarians and the delivery of critical appraisal training: attitudes, level of involvement and support

Abstract

Background: Although healthcare librarians are undertaking training in critical appraisal skills, what is not so clear is the impact of the training on the understanding and dissemination of these skills. Objectives: This study aims to examine the attitudes of healthcare librarians towards delivering critical appraisal training and their level of involvement. Methods: A questionnaire survey of 57 library services across 48 NHS Trust Library Services in northwest England followed up with 21 semi-structured interviews. Results: Seventy-three per cent of respondents felt that they ought to be involved in delivering critical appraisal training, however less than a third (29%) are actually involved. Librarians are involved in critical appraisal facilitation at various levels. Conclusions: Debate continues over the extent of librarian involvement in delivering critical appraisal training. As long as healthcare librarians recognise their own capabilities and identify the boundaries within which they feel comfortable then there is no reason why they should not be involved in delivering critical appraisal training.

Healthcare librarians and the delivery of critical appraisal training: barriers to involvement

“…A previous paper in Health Information and Libraries Journal examined the attitudes of UK healthcare librarians towards critical appraisal and their level of involvement in delivering critical appraisal training 7 . This paper aims to identify and explore the barriers to the delivery of critical appraisal skills training among UK NHS and HE healthcare librarians.…”

The status of health librarianship and libraries in the Republic of Ireland (SHELLI): a mixed methods review to inform future strategy and sustainability

“…Hider et al ., for example, reported on the information‐seeking behaviour of clinical staff in a large healthcare organisation in New Zealand, their comments on the use of e‐resources and Google being of particular interest. While the attitude of healthcare librarians towards the teaching of critical appraisal was the subject of an investigation in Liverpool by Maden‐Jenkins . Other information literacy initiatives are reported by Schwartz et al., King et al., and Clark and Li …”

“…While the attitude of healthcare librarians towards the teaching of critical appraisal was the subject of an investigation in Liverpool by Maden-Jenkins. 38 Other information literacy initiatives are reported by Schwartz et al, 39 King et al, 40 and Clark and Li. 41 In Ireland, the changing needs of users certainly need acknowledgement, especially in the university sector.…”

Health sciences libraries in Germany: new directions

“…While most assist with the development of search strategies, full mediated searches for researchers working on systematic reviews, clinical guidelines and similar publications (Spencer & Eldredge, ) are less common. Clinical librarian services (Brettle, Maden, & Payne, ) and support for the critical appraisal of clinical evidence (Maden‐Jenkins, ) are rare, as is research in the field of library and information science.…”