National Library for Public Health e-newsletter

Are you interested in any of the following areas?

accidents & injuries, cancer, cardiovascular disease, children & young people, communicable diseases, commissioning, dental health, diet & nutrition, health inequalities, mental health, obesity, offender & prison health, older people, physical activity, sexual health, substance misuse and women's health

If so, the National Library for Public Health is for you! The library has been developed to provide high quality evidence e-based information on all aspects of public health. It is designed for those working in the field of public health by providing a single source of access to web based evidence on public health.

The March edition of the Library's newsletter has published new resources on all these topics, so click on the following link to find out what's new in public health: http://tinyurl.com/57u6uc

Kidney Diseases Newsletter

The Kidney Diseases Specialist Library is for busy health professionals, providing them with high quality information and keeping them up to date with the latest research in this area.

The March 2009 Kidney Diseases Specialist Library Newsletter is out now and includes guidance such as 'Primary Care Service Framework: Vascular Checks', podcasts from presentations at the National Kidney Federation's Annual Patients' Conference and patient information on avoiding kidney disease.

You can access all the information here: http://tinyurl.com/ab5ne3

Neurological Conditions March 2009 Update

The latest bulletin from the Neurological Conditions Specialist Library (NCSL) aims to update you on interesting items recently added to the library by the Clinical Lead and Topic Advisors.

The NCSL March 2009 Update includes documents associated with the National Dementia Strategy and the National Stroke Strategy, guidelines from NICE, BOAST and the British Pain Society, and also e-learning modules on dementia, epilepsy, stroke and Parkinson's disease.

To improve your awareness of current issues as well as the latest research and developments in neurological conditions, click here: http://tinyurl.com/45gfkt

2009 Update on Hearing Disorders

The Annual Evidence Update on Hearing Disorders is now available. It has been published by the ENT and Audiology Specialist Library with the aim of presenting relevant research evidence from the past 12 months and therapeutic uncertainties where research gaps exist.

Health professionals working in audiology, ENT and related services, as well as primary care staff who would like to learn more about hearing disorders, will find this update useful. Topics include hearing aids, cochlear implants, tinnitus and newborn screening. There is also signposting to patient information and support.

Click here to enter the site: http://www.library.nhs.uk/ENT/ViewResource.aspx?resID=307109&tabID=289

Annual Evidence Update on Inflammatory Bowel Disease

The NLH Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases Specialist Library project team has carried out a systematic search on Inflammatory Bowel Disease to identify all high level evidence published in the past year; namely guidelines, systematic reviews, health technology assessments and economic evaluations. Leading experts from around the UK have read and appraised these for their validity and relevance to the busy clinician.

A list of the most useful papers, along with commentary from the experts, is available on the site at http://www.library.nhs.uk/gastroliver/viewResource.aspx?resID=309257. This year, the team has also begun to identify uncertainties in research to contribute to the DUETs project. (See www.library.nhs.uk/duets for more details).

North West Healthcare Science Network - new website!

March 6th-15th is Healthcare Science Awareness Week and the North West Healthcare Science Network has launched its new website.

Over the coming weeks, a host of features will become available for healthcare scientists who are working throughout the NHS in the North West. These will include a clinical leadership programme, a North West ambassador scheme and a newsletter. There will also be a new portfolio for Continuing Professional Development.

A useful online resource to keep healthcare scientists updated with local, regional and national developments and events.

To see what the Network has to offer, click here: http://www.nwhcs.nhs.uk/

MARCH 2009

Hello everyone!

We haven't got any photos of March hares for you, I'm afraid, so here's a scene from the city instead, just for a change...

Horizon Scanning: a guide to best practice

Horizon Scanning is a new initiative by the North West Primary Care Librarians to gather together information on best practice, innovations and future risks, to support the commissioning process and service re-design. You can subscribe to receive an e-mail newsletter of each new update when it is published. Here are the links to the topics that have been published so far:

DIABETES TYPE 2: http://diabetestype2nwpctl.wordpress.com
STROKE: http://strokenwpctl.wordpress.com
OBESITY: http://obesitynwpctl.wordpress.com/
IMMUNISATION: http://immunisationnwpctl.wordpress.com/
CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES: http://cardionwpctl.wordpress.com
COMMUNITY DIAGNOSTICS: http://communitydiagnosticsnwpctl.wordpress.com
BREASTFEEDING: http://breastfeedingnwpctl.wordpress.com
DENTAL HEALTH: http://dentalnwpctl.wordpress.com
URGENT CARE: http://urgentcarenwpctl.wordpress.com/
SUSTAINABILITY: http://sustainabilitynwpctl.wordpress.com/

Other updates will shortly become available on topics such as COPD, Cancer, Substance abuse, Sexual health, Emotional health and well-being, End of life care and Patient experience.

Skin Disease Finder

VisualDxHealth has produced the website Skin Disease Finder, which provides medical images of common conditions affecting various parts of the body. Skin diseases are categorised by age group and gender, and are described in terms of risk factors, treatments and recommendations for self-care. Useful, both for clinician decision-making, as well as for patient information.

Try it out by clicking on this link: http://www.visualdxhealth.com/myDiseaseFinder.htm

Update from the Gastroenterology & Liver Diseases Specialist Library

The February edition of the Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases Specialist Library (GLDSL) newsletter is out now.

Dr Martyn Caplin, Clinical Lead for the GLDSL, has highlighted some of the most interesting journal articles that have recently been published in the field of gastroenterology and liver diseases.

The latest guidelines from the British Society of Gastroenterology, the Primary Care Society for Gastroenterology, NICE and other organisations are also available to view.

To view the update online, please follow this link: http://tinyurl.com/3ko3v8

Neurological Conditions Specialist Library February e-update‏

This bulletin from the Neurological Conditions Specialist Library aims to update you on interesting items recently added to the library, the latest journal articles as highlighted by the Clinical Lead and Topic Advisors, upcoming events of interest and what the project team are currently working on.

Recent additions include new guidelines published by relevant associations, systematic reviews published by the Cochrane Library, patient information and podcasts.

To read the online newsletter, please click here: http://tinyurl.com/45gfkt

2009 Annual Evidence Update on Tinnitus‏

For those of you who work in ENT, Audiology and primary health care, the 2009 Annual Evidence Update (AEU) on tinnitus is now available from the ENT and Audiology Specialist Library.

The update presents expert commentary by Veronica Kennedy on major research themes, and a comprehensive collection of up-to-date research evidence published in the previous 12 months. It also includes a section on therapeutic uncertainties where research gaps exist.

There are also patient information resources available, such as factsheets and information on products and support groups.

The AEU on tinnitus is available at http://tinyurl.com/bxmjt3

Kidney Diseases Specialist Library newsletter‏

The Kidney Diseases Specialist Library has launched its first e-newsletter, to provide busy health professionals with high quality information and to keep them up to date with the latest research and developments in this field.

New resources include guidance, evidence, CPD and patient information.

If you have an interest in renal healthcare, click here: http://tinyurl.com/dnyocb

Annual Evidence Update on chest pain

The Cardiovascular Diseases Specialist Library (CVDSL) has launched its second Annual Evidence Update on Chest Pain for health professionals and patients.

Guidelines, evidence and patient information are presented on topics such as the diagnosis, management and prevention of acute coronary syndromes and chest pain.

To see the significant advances in knowledge about chest pain since the first update was published in 2007, click here:

http://www.library.nhs.uk/cardiovascular/viewResource.aspx?resid=305729