National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Attached is a Federal Register Notice announcing a public meeting that NIH is convening on April 20 to solicit input on regulations that will be prepared in the not-too-distant future to implement the clinicaltrials.gov registry and results database and address some open questions that Congress asked us to consider. The notice identifies a number of these topics and requests public comment — either at the public meeting itself, or as written comments that can be submitted to a public docket that has been established at www.regulations.gov. We’d like to ensure that the broader community of people interested in the availability of clinical trials information are aware of the meeting and the opportunity to comment. Additional information about the meeting, registration, and submission of comments is provided in the Notice and on our website: http://prsinfo.clinicaltrials.gov/public-meeting-april09.html

Updates to the PublicAccess.NIH.Gov site

The NIH Pubic Access Policy Website (publicaccess.nih.gov) has recently been updated with the following changes:

1. NIH Awardees have been notified that the NIH Public Access Policy is permanent, per the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009 in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-09-071.html).
2. Based on this, the Public Access FAQ (http://publicaccess.nih.gov/FAQ.htm) has been updated. The entry for FAQ B1, “To what papers does the NIH Public Access Policy apply?” has been updated.
3. The training slides at http://publicaccess.nih.gov/communications.htm have been updated accordingly. These slides are intended to be downloaded and modified to support institutional efforts to train authors and comply with the Policy.
4. Anyone submitting an application, proposal or progress report to the NIH must include the PMC or NIH Manuscript Submission reference number when citing applicable articles that arise from their NIH funded research. Instructions on citing papers has been consolidated into a web page, at http://publicaccess.nih.gov/citation_methods.htm. This link is accessible via the sidebar of http://publicaccess.nih.gov/index.htm under “Citation Methods”.

April 15th Deadline: Librarian Application for Sewell Fund
Learning Partnerships

Here’s your chance to use your information/library science Master’s degree to very good purpose. If this Fellowship doesn’t fit with your interests or timing, please pass this announcement along to others who may wish to pursue application.

The Grace and Harold Sewell Memorial Fund will award two 12-month, paid “Learning Partnerships” placing experienced health sciences librarians within leading health care organizations for the purpose of both partners gaining a greater understanding of how best information sciences can be effectively applied in each environment. This on-the-edge fellowship offers mid-career librarians the opportunity to be fully immersed in the environment of a health care organization. The fellow will participate in team settings designed to utilize the librarian’s skills and knowledge in non-traditional ways, resulting in a tangible and valuable contribution to the host organization. For more information about the Grace and Harold Sewell Memorial Fund, the Learning Partnerships, fellowship application process, and eligibility requirements, please visit the Sewell Fund website at http://www.sewellfund.org/LearningPartnerships2009.htm.

Although only two Fellowships will be awarded, three Host Organizations have been selected to vie for the placements. They include:

• The Preston A. Wells, Jr. Center for Brain Tumor Therapy at the University of Florida, Shands/UF Hospital, and the UF Health Sciences Library in Gainesville are working together to experience how librarians can truly be members of the health care team. They are designing a position called a “clinical patient informationist”. This unique health care practitioner would work alongside clinicians and patients to directly impact patient care and outcomes.
• San Antonio Metropolitan Public Health District’s mission is to provide leadership and services for San Antonio and Bexar County to prevent illness and injury, promote healthy behaviors, and protect against health hazards. As a local governmental public health agency Metro Health works at the front line of community health by providing essential health surveillance, laboratory services, education and outreach, emergency response programs, regulatory activities and policy interventions. The Learning Partnership Librarian will take a leadership role in the development and implementation of two major department initiatives: (1) A comprehensive Employee Education & Development Program; and (2) An Information & Communications program to expand the use of information technology to promote awareness of Metro Health resources and services and respond to public information needs. Supplementing Metro Health as host of a Learning Partnership Librarian, the San Antonio Regional Campus of The University of Texas School of Public Health and the University of Texas Health Science Center Library have committed as partners to provide resources and mentorship for the Learning Partnership.
• The Public Health Foundation (PHF), incorporated in the District of Columbia, is a national, non-profit 501(c)3 organization with a clear focus on improving public health infrastructure and the performance of public health agencies and systems. For more than 35 years, PHF has been on the forefront of initiatives designed to strengthen and improve the infrastructure and performance of systems that protect and promote the public’s health. The mission of PHF is: Improving public health infrastructure and performance through innovative solutions and measurable results. This mission aims to help PHF achieve its ultimate vision to create “a high-performing public health system that protects and promotes health in every community.”

More information about the host organizations can be found on the Sewell Fund website at http://www.sewellfund.org/LearningPartnerships2009.htm

Eligibility:

• Only those individuals with an MLS or equivalent degree from an ALA-approved university program are eligible to apply for the fellowship. Candidates must be mid-career; applicants who have just finished their MLS will not be considered.
• Must be available for a full-time, 12-consecutive-month fellowship.
• Candidates must be United States citizens or have met the requirements of I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification for employment in the United States prior to application for the fellowship
• Prepare to sign a Partnership Agreement with the Host Organization and the Sewell Fund which specifies performance and reporting expectations.

For more information about the fellowship, please visit the Sewell Fund website at http://www.sewellfund.org/LearningPartnerships2009.htm

Initial database features over 1300 systematic reviews

The American Dental Association (ADA) announces the launching of EBD.ada.org, the Web site dedicated to evidenced-based dentistry (EBD). EBD.ada.org allows easy and quick access to a database of systematic reviews of oral health clinical information from one centralized location.

EBD, according to the ADA, is an approach to oral health care that requires the judicious integration of systematic assessments of clinically relevant scientific evidence, relating to the patient’s oral and medical condition and history, with the dentist’s clinical expertise and the patient’s treatment needs and preferences.

Supported by a grant from the National Library of Medicine and the National Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Research (grant number G08 LM008956), EBD.ada.org also features critical summaries of systematic reviews that assess information within systematic reviews in a concise format so that health care workers can incorporate scientific evidence in clinical decision making.

For the complete News Release, please click here.

Reminder: Applications for outreach project awards are due by April 17, 2009. See http://nnlm.gov/sea/funding/outreach.html for more details.

“Managing Emergency Preparedness: Academic Health Centers Organize and Innovate” provides academic health center leaders and policymakers at the local, state, and national levels with a short-hand guide on managing emergency response activities within academic health centers.   Academic health centers are leaders in emergency preparedness and disaster response from vigilance in internal security to protection of the research enterprise to collaboration with the surrounding community.

This brief guide by the Association of Academic Health Centers (AAHC) highlights ways in which academic health centers are developing and managing operations and systems to help ensure that institutions and communities can respond to an array of emergencies and natural disasters. http://www.aahcdc.org/policy/reports/AAHC_Emergency_Prep_08.pdf

Deadline: May 1, 2009

Enhancement Grants support projects to enhance existing, or implement new, library services, particularly as they relate to the goals of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages are eligible to apply for the Enhancement Grants only if they have applied for a Native American Library Services Basic Grant in the same fiscal year. For more information, please go to: http://www.imls.gov/applicants/grants/nativeEnhance.shtm.

Check out the new Understanding Medical Words tutorial from the National Library of Medicine. This tutorial teaches you about medical words. You’ll learn about how to put together parts of medical words. You’ll also find quizzes to see what you’ve learned. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/medicalwords.html

Nomination Information

The Michael E. DeBakey Library Services Outreach Award for Outstanding Service to Rural or Underserved Communities was established in the early 1990s to recognize the contributions to medical education and librarianship by Michael E. DeBakey, M.D. and to honor a practicing health sciences librarian who serves in such a community.

This year’s award is especially important to honor and serve as a reminder of the incredible advances and medical innovations of Dr. DeBakey who passed away in 2008. His great accomplishments have inspired an award to recognize an outstanding individual making history and a lasting impact today.

The recipient of the Michael E. DeBakey Library Services Outreach Award is publicly recognized at the FNLM Awards Dinner on May 5th, 2009. The Dinner is in memory of FNLM past Chairman, “Mr. Health,” Paul G. Rogers and will celebrate leadership in public health and medicine.

NOMINATIONS:

• Nominees must be currently employed as a health sciences librarian and have worked in such a position for at least five years immediately preceding the award.
• The nomination may be made for contributions by the librarian as demonstrated by excellence and achievement in leadership, publications, teaching, research, special projects or any combination of these.
• Nominations must be in writing and contain at least the following elements:
  • The official nomination form
  • A precise description of the nominee’s achievements
  • A current resume or curriculum vitae
  • Any additional information that would assist the jury in the evaluation of the nomination and selection of the recipient.
• Self-nominations are accepted and encouraged.
• The recipient will be notified by April 13th, 2009, and the award will be presented at the FNLM Annual Dinner on May 5th, 2009.
• All nominations must be received by March 30, 2009 at the following address:
  

  Friends of the National Library of Medicine
  c/o Julie Fagnani
  2801 M Street, NW
  Washington, DC 20007

For more information or inquiries regarding the Michael E. DeBakey Library Services Outreach Award, please contact Julie Fagnani at Jfagnani@fnlm.org

The NIHSeniorHealth topic, Arthritis (contributed by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)), has been split into three topics - Gout, Osteoarthritis, and Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Gout (http://nihseniorhealth.gov/gout/toc.html) features 4 chapters:

• What Is Gout?
• Causes and Risk Factors
• Symptoms and Diagnosis
• Treatment and Research

Osteoarthritis (http://nihseniorhealth.gov/osteoarthritis/toc.html) features 4 chapters:

• What Is Osteoarthritis?
• Causes and Risk Factors
• Symptoms and Diagnosis
• Treatment and Research

Rheumatoid Arthritis
(http://nihseniorhealth.gov/rheumatoidarthritis/toc.html) features 4 chapters:

• What Is Rheumatoid Arthritis?
• Causes and Risk Factors
• Symptoms and Diagnosis
• Treatment and Research