Humphreys B L
National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD 20894, USA.
J Urban Health. 1998 Dec;75(4):878-83. doi: 10.1007/BF02344515.
Those seeking information in health policy and public health are not as well served as those seeking clinical information. Problems inhibiting access to health policy and public health information include the heterogeneity of professionals seeking the information, the distribution of relevant information across disciplines and information sources, scarcity of synthesized information useful to practitioners, lack of awareness of available services or training in their use, and lack of access to information technology or to knowledgeable librarians and information specialists. Since 1990, the National Library of Medicine and the National Network of Libraries of Medicine have been working to enhance information services in health policy and public health through expanding the coverage of the NLM collection, building new databases, and engaging in targeted outreach and training initiatives directed toward segments of the health policy and public health communities. Progress has been made, but more remains to be done. Recommendations arising from the meeting, Accessing Useful Information: Challenges in Health Policy and Public Health, will help NLM and the National Network of Libraries of Medicine to establish priorities and action plans for the next several years.
寻求健康政策和公共卫生信息的人，相比寻求临床信息的人，所获得的服务并不那么完善。阻碍获取健康政策和公共卫生信息的问题包括：寻求信息的专业人员的异质性、相关信息在不同学科和信息源之间的分布、对从业者有用的综合信息稀缺、对可用服务缺乏了解或缺乏使用这些服务的培训，以及无法获取信息技术或接触知识渊博的图书馆员和信息专家。自1990年以来，国立医学图书馆和国家医学图书馆网络一直在努力加强健康政策和公共卫生方面的信息服务，通过扩大国立医学图书馆馆藏的覆盖范围、建立新数据库，以及针对健康政策和公共卫生领域的部分群体开展有针对性的推广和培训活动。已经取得了进展，但仍有更多工作要做。“获取有用信息：健康政策和公共卫生中的挑战”会议提出的建议，将有助于国立医学图书馆和国家医学图书馆网络确定未来几年的优先事项和行动计划。
