Our BrowZine eShelf for library journals also offers the LibKey Nomad browser extension for Chrome, Edge and Firefox. Installing this extension will allow you to easily connect with our full text journal subscriptions from internet sites such as PubMed or publisher journal pages. Click here to install.

Now available from our databases page, ClinMicroNow from the American Society for Microbiology Press is an online platform for gold standard clinical microbiology textbooks and actionable and timely clinical microbiology content. Navigate to ‘Our books’ to browse or conduct quick searches.

Register for upcoming webinars: Getting started with the library, EBP step 1 – finding the best available evidence, Grey medical literature and database training on ClinicalKey/ClinicalKey for Nursing or ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health.

The month of May saw the annual celebration of Library and Information Week (LIW) and our own library’s adventures in space and time.

The main report by WHO’s Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness & Response (IPPPR) has been published. It provides recommendations on curbing the COVID-19 pandemic and examines why COVID-19 became a global crisis. Analysis of the report is provided in The Coronavirus Pandemic 1 Year On - What Went Wrong? which highlights early failures of the global health system, a breakdown in global solidarity and uncoordinated national responses.

Vaccination hesitancy has been the subject of intense media scrutiny following on from political polling late April which revealed declining public confidence, with 16% of respondents claiming they will never get vaccinated. Stumbles in the roll out were also the subject of an ABC 4 Corners report which featured an interview with Monash Health doctor Professor Jim Buttery.

Selected COVID-19 articles:

• Covid-19: What do we know about airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2? from BMJ summarises what existing evidence tells us about airborne transmission of the virus.
• The shift towards online and simulation education as a result of the pandemic is highlighted in a guest editorial for Nursing Education Perspectives. Continued research is essential to ensure health education continues to innovate and meet student needs.
• This Anesthesiology article looks at the effects of wearing PPE in the pandemic and how it impacted on health care workers  from breathing and hearing clearly, to less visible psychological stresses.
• American Journal of Nursing's comprehensive evidence based review of COVID-19 for nurses highlights essential issues relating to ‘hands on’ patient care across presentation, critical illness management and infection prevention.
• Foundational guidelines for protecting nurses are detailed in SARS-CoV-2 safety: Guidelines for shielding frontline nurses. Covers hand hygiene, respirators, PPE, post shift hygiene and vehicle travel.

A recent webinar hosted by Consumers Health Forum of Australia (CHF) about how the COVID-19 Taskforce utilised a living evidence model and engaged with consumers to shape Australia’s treatment guidelines is freely available on you tube.

A selection of papers from the Digital Health Institute Summit 2020 ‘Healthier Lives, Digitally Enabled’ are available as eBook chapters from IOS Press. Themes include digital health in the care of the elderly, mental health, COVID-19, public health, and workforce.

Key challenges for digital health and artificial intelligence in particular are discussed by Dr Eric Topol in a podcast on the transformative power of medical Ai. Another excellent podcast this month is from NPS Medicine Wisely on the Choosing Wisely initiative. Medical guests discuss why Choosing Wisely has been needed, how it has been received and other issues in reducing unnecessary care.

• New systematic review on risk and protective factors in workplace violence and burnout confirms that a high % of health professionals are exposed to verbal, physical, sexual workplace violence. It recommends institutional action and building societal awareness.

• It is Schizophrenia Awareness Week. This 2020 review from the British Medical Bulletin offers health professionals a guide on the use of clozapine in treating refractory (treatment-resistant) schizophrenia. 

• The EPDS and Australian Indigenous women highlights problems regarding the effectiveness of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale for perinatal mental health screening with Indigenous Australian women. These included cultural safety, reliability and low screening rates.

• Learn more about how artificial intelligence is being applied within the scope of pharmacovigilance in this article from Clinical Therapeutics which focuses on how pharmacovigilance can be improved, Ai potential advantages and future use.

• Oncologists reflect on their experiences treating LGBTQ patients: while most have positive experiences, many cite lack of experience and knowledge of LGBTQ experiences as barriers to affirming patient care.

• Health practitioners can work to improve discussions and be more open to positive dialogue with patients about self-harm and suicide by re-framing questions away from ‘no’ responses towards recognising opportunities to validate patient’s thoughts. 

• A new Cochrane review on the effects of beds, overlays and mattresses on pressure ulcer healing found uncertainty in the impact of alternate surfaces and recommended future research on alternating air pressure surfaces verses foam surfaces.