Annual evidence updates - January 2009

The National Library for Health (NLH) Specialist Libraries have been developed to identify and meet the information needs of particular communities of practice. They are web-based collections containing clinical and non-clinical information on the major health priority areas. Each NLH Specialist Library identifies and provides access to quality assessed information of relevance to the community that it serves.

An aspect of this involves the production of Annual Evidence Updates, which aim to highlight the best current evidence for selected healthcare topics. Annual Evidence Updates consist of the good quality evidence from a search of research evidence on a particular topic over a 12 month period, plus user-friendly summaries written by relevant experts, and links to guidelines, secondary research and primary research, if applicable. All information included in Annual Evidence Updates has been subject to rigorous selection criteria.

The calendar of currently confirmed Annual Evidence Updates for 2009 is now available. The following Annual Evidence Updates are scheduled for January 2009:

Urinary incontinence (Kidney Diseases and Women's Health Specialist Libraries) 19th January
Focusing on both male and female urinary incontinence this Annual Evidence Update brings together the latest evidence on the surgical, drug and conservative management of urge and stress incontinence and Overactive Bladder (OAB). Expert commentaries summarising the latest knowledge on various incontinence topics such as botox, post-prostatectomy and quality of life issues will be available.

Patient and Carer Involvement in Chronic Disease (Supportive and Palliative Care Specialist Library) 19th January
This Annual Evidence Update collects together the best current knowledge on self care in chronic disease management. Key resources from a small sample of chronic conditions are placed within the general theme of user involvement in health services.

Patient Safety (Patient and Public Involvement Specialist Library) 26th January
This Annual Evidence Update considers the issue of patient involvement in patient safety, which can be defined as: the actions that patients take to reduce the likelihood of medical errors and/or the actions that patients take to mitigate the effects of medical errors when they do occur. The Annual Evidence Update looks at the ways in which patients can help to improve patient safety, and also at the willingness of patients to perform safety-related behaviours.

Athens registration process has changed

The registration process for Athens has changed slightly. You still need to complete an online form with your personal and professional details on the National Library for Health, but you can now do this from any computer and you may give either a work or personal email address. The email address that you give will be used to communicate with you about your Athens account, including a validation email which you need to complete the registration process, so think about where it will be most useful to receive this information.

• Complete the online form on the National Library for Health (click Register here)
• Once you have clicked Submit your username will appear on the screen
• Access the email account you provided and click on the validation link contained within the email you will have received from EduServ
• Choose and enter a password of your choice
• Confirm your understanding of EduServ's terms and conditions

You will now be taken to the Athens website where you can amend your personal details and view and access all the resources which your username and password entitle you to.

There have also been changes to the look of the National Library for Health (NLH) homepage and enhancements to how you access personalised information.

When you log on to Athens via the NLH your name will be permanently displayed at the top right hand of the screen. If you click on the link My Account you are able to amend your personal details (organisation, email address or Athens password). You can also view any saved searches or alerts from the bibliographic databases (Medline, CINAHL etc) and access other alerts and RSS feeds you have saved via My Library.

Changes to the MyJournals A-Z listing

On 1st January 2009 there will officially be a change to the MyJournals service on the National Library for Health (NLH) which allows you to see which journal titles you can access electronically or in print from your local NHS library.

Currently, if you access the service via the listing of resources on the Athens website or via My Library on the National Library for Health, you will be taken to the outgoing service http://journals.library.nhs.uk/.

However, if you click the link MyJournals on the NLH site you are already directed to the new service at www.library.nhs.uk/booksandjournals/journals/.

Our advice to you is to continue using the "old" service until it disappears in the new year as we have found that the new service is not yet working as well as it should.

If you currently have table of contents (ToC) alerts set up via MyJournals you will need to transfer these to the Zetoc service as your ToCs will not be transferred to the new system. If you need help with Zetoc please contact the library by email or telephone (ext 1544/5).

Christmas opening

The library will be closed on:

• Thursday 25th December
• Friday 26th December
• Thursday 1st January

At other times our normal staffed hours will apply: 8.30 to 5.00 pm, Mondays to Fridays.

Please ensure that if you require out-of-hours access during the holiday period your PIN is up to date and working correctly.