Manitoba Centre for Health PolicyJanuary 31, 2006
WWW.health-evidence.ca : An innovative service to promote
evidence-based public health decision making Maureen Dobbins, RN, PhD
Kara DeCorby, MSc
Donna Ciliska, RN, PhD
Shawna Mercer, PhD
Roy Cameron, R, PhD
Lawrence W. Green, PhD
Helen Thomas, MSc
Manitoba Centre for Health PolicyJanuary 31, 2006
Manitoba Centre for Health PolicyJanuary 31, 2006
Setting the Scene
What
How
Why
When
Who
Where
Manitoba Centre for Health PolicyJanuary 31, 2006
WHAT - health-evidence.ca
• online registry
• reviews evaluating interventions
• quality-assessed
• searchable by commonly-used public health terms
• two page summaries
Manitoba Centre for Health PolicyJanuary 31, 2006
Manitoba Centre for Health PolicyJanuary 31, 2006
HOW - Search Strategy
• electronic search of 6 online databases:
• handsearching of 20 journals
• reference list of all relevant reviews
Manitoba Centre for Health PolicyJanuary 31, 2006
HOW - Building the Registry
• relevance testing
• keywording
• quality assessment
Manitoba Centre for Health PolicyJanuary 31, 2006
WHY – Value Added
• difficulty identifying public health/health promotion literature in large medical databases
• lack of time to assess quality of literature
• practical application not always apparent
Manitoba Centre for Health PolicyJanuary 31, 2006
WHY - Functions of Site
• compilation of reviews with quality ratings
• User-friendly search capability
• summaries of results and implications for practice
• links to full-text reviews wherever possible
Manitoba Centre for Health PolicyJanuary 31, 2006
Manitoba Centre for Health PolicyJanuary 31, 2006
WHEN - Launch of Site
• March 10, 2005
• Over 2,000 hits in first week
• Over 22,000 hits to date
Manitoba Centre for Health PolicyJanuary 31, 2006
WHO - Site Stats
• > 1300 registered users as of Sept 2005
• ~ 80% of users are Canadian, with most of the remaining 20% Americans, followed by Australia and UK
• all provinces and territories
Manitoba Centre for Health PolicyJanuary 31, 2006
Manitoba Centre for Health PolicyJanuary 31, 2006
Topic areas covered addiction/drug use
adolescent health
adult health
child health
chronic diseases
communicable disease & infection
community health
dental health
elderly health
environmental health
food safety & inspection
infant health
injury prevention & safety
mental health
nutrition
parenting/infants & children
physical activity
pregnancy
sex education
stds
women's health
Manitoba Centre for Health PolicyJanuary 31, 2006
Popular topics
• obesity prevention
• healthy eating
• physical activity
• day care
Manitoba Centre for Health PolicyJanuary 31, 2006
Comments
“Everything is AOK as far as logging in. Great site. I look forward in future to utilizing what appears to be a potent health policy decision-making tool. With the increasing complexity of health related issues, you can't have too many such resources to draw on.”
-Policy Analyst
“there seems to be something for everyone - I liked that it provides a quality rating for the research - this is something I struggle with - and it holds only what is relevant for us in public health. I will use it as a solid reference point for our programming.”
-Public Health Manager
Manitoba Centre for Health PolicyJanuary 31, 2006
WHERE - Work in progress
• Health-evidence.ca is evolving - plans are underway to meet users’ needs through
– moderated discussion groups
– tutorials
– online courses
– expert panels
– live chats with colleagues and experts
Manitoba Centre for Health PolicyJanuary 31, 2006
Comments?
• The registry is one component of a comprehensive KT strategy to support users in
– accessing and interpreting research evidence
– connecting with colleagues and experts across Canada (and internationally)
view the site at
www.health-evidence.ca and share your comments/questions
Manitoba Centre for Health PolicyJanuary 31, 2006