Outcomes Research in Health Care Script

In case anyone has ever wondered what I talk to the Health Policy department about, here's the script of a class I'm giving on Tuesday. At least, I hope this is the script. I'm not really clear on what exactly my faculty wants and I've asked four times. I'm frankly a little afraid to ask him again.

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Outcomes Research in Health
January 31, 2006
One hour (45 minutes)

Introduction
• Introduce self
• Just talking about resources, not search fundamentals; happy to do one-on-one for assistance with actually doing a search
• Launch browser
• Click through to library
• Use links on web site to activate proxy server (doesn’t work from the VA)

PubMed
• Open PubMed
• PubMed is really the place to start all heathcare research
• Can use OVID, too, but PubMed has some special features for this area
• Can run a regular search and narrow down, absolutely
o Use MESH and subheadings to really get into things
o Can limit to practice guidelines
o Nice tutorials linked from the sidebar
o Pneumonia[MAJR] AND “outcome assessment (health care)”[mesh]
• Open Special Queries page
• Special Queries page provides a goldmine of goodies

Clinical Queries
• Find clinical trials, systematic reviews
• Access to clinical information
• Pneumonia[MAJR], clinical prediction guides and narrow
• Narrow vs. broad

Health Services Research Queries
• Articles related to quality or costs (see handout for specifics)
• Pneumonia[MAJR], outcomes assessment and narrow
• Narrow vs. broad
• Surprisingly little overlap with the “outcome assessment” Mesh search above

“HealthStar” Subset Search
• HealthStar used to be a separate NLM database for administrative information
• In regular PubMed search box, enter: jsubseth AND economics
• Then “and” in whatever major topic desired
• This can be like using a flamethrower to light a match but can be useful
• jsubseth AND economics AND pneumonia


Books of Possible Interest
• Under the “Books” link on far right in PubMed interface
• Health Services/Technology Assessment Text (HSTAT)Show this one
• Health, United States, 2004

Cochrane
• Serious EBP resource
• Link on library databases page
• Open Cochrane
• Searching is a little less clear
• Click on advanced search, use the Mesh search
• Pneumonia
• Show what comes up in the different areas

Ebsco Health Business Fulltext Elite (if time)
• Very heavily administrative
• Link on library databases page
• Open EHBFTE
• Use subjects “outcome assessment (medical care)” or “medical care—quality control”