Entry requirements

For admission, a university degree is required, with a minimum of 180 credit points in medicine, nursing, nutrition or another area relevant to international health.

Applicants should also have basic knowledge about information seeking in medicine and health, as well as experience with key resources.

All applicants need to verify English language proficiency. This is normally attested by means of an internationally recognised test such as TOEFL or IELTS.

Learning outcomes

After the completion of the course the participants should:

Be aware that health professionals in lower-income countries (LICs) can access, free-of-charge, most academic-quality resources in medicine and health to support clinical practice, policy making, education, and research

Understand the differences between various types of 'free' information materials (subsidized, national provision, open access, and pre-paid) and the implications for accessing and using each type of material in a lower-income country (LIC)

Be familiar with the major subsidized access programmes for medical and health information that are available in many LICs and know what kind of information resources each programme provides

Know the correct procedure for registering and/or obtaining user-names and passwords for the major subsidized access programmes

Understand the various routes and mechanisms through which these programmes provide full-text journal articles (online links from bibliographic databases and publisher databases, digital copies in archives, hard copies via document delivery, etc.) and be able to utilise all of these routes and mechanisms

Be able to carry out advanced searches in Medline/PubMed

Be able to use Medline/PubMed in combination with HINARI, one of the major subsidized access programmes, and to avoid the common errors that block access to millions of full-text journal articles from HINARI

Be familiar with major national-provision programmes for LICs and know how to register for and use these resources

Be competent in finding open-access articles in medicine and health via a variety of open-access archives, through specialised open-access gateways, and with an open-access filter

Be aware that many valuable subscription journals in medicine and health become free after an embargo period and know where to find lists of these journals and their embargo periods

Know about online journal access and other information services available through country-specific pre-paid services such as local university subscriptions, national digital libraries, and library consortia

Be familiar with a variety of alternative information delivery services for health professionals working in rural areas with no or limited Internet access

Know the major sites providing access to full-text books relevant to medicine and health in LICs and be able to order and/or download books from these sites

Know how and where to find free and high-quality non-literature resources in medicine and health

Be familiar with gateways and search engines specializing in information resources relevant to medicine and health in LICs, including ones focused on specific topics of major public health importance

Have experience in using online translation tools, automatic updates, and other technical devices to expedite and simplify access to information

Be aware of the complex regulations regarding published materials and know where to find information about funders' and publishers' requirements regarding posting and archiving of journal articles

Know where to find online materials specifically designed to support research, education in medicine and health, and evidence-based decision making

Content

This course provides comprehensive coverage of the valuable information resources in medicine and health that are available free-of-charge to professionals in low-income countries and of the diverse programmes and tools through which they can be accessed. The topics covered include the following:

Free full-text journal articles via HINARI, INASP/PERii, AGORA, OARE, and other major international subsidized-access programmes

Advanced searches in Medline/PubMed using Boolean formulations, MeSH, clinical queries, and limits, and Medline searches in combination with HINARI

National provision programmes such as those of Oxford University Press, BMJ, and JSTOR

Open access resources available via DOAJ, Open J-Gate, PubMed Central, and other routes

Highwire, PubMed Central, GFMER, and other sources listing subscription journals that are available free-of-charge after embargo times

Examples of individual national programmes providing pre-paid journal access in LICs, such as the eIFL library consortia and national digital libraries

Satellife, TALC, and other health information delivery systems for rural areas in LICs

National Academy Press, National Library of Medicine, FreeBooks4Doctors, WHOLIS, IDRC, and other major sources of free online books in health and medicine

World Health Organisation, UNICEF, National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine, CDC, Johns Hopkins University, GFMER, INTUTE, the INFO Project, e-Medicine, and other major sources for high-quality non-literature resources such as statistical information, images and videos, clinical guidelines, teaching materials, and training packages for LIC health personnel

Essential Health Links, Health Sciences Online, and other gateways and search engines for general health and medical resources relevant to LICs

Key medical and health gateways, directories, search engines, and digital libraries plus specific major resources focused on medical and public health specialties of importance in LICs, such as infectious and parasitic diseases, non-infectious diseases, maternal and child health, reproductive health, gender-based violence and other gender issues, nutrition, health programme management, pharmaceuticals, health in humanitarian emergencies, and disabilities and rehabilitation

Google language tools and other online translation programmes, RSS feeds and other alert systems

ROMEO, JULIET, SHERPA, and other resources providing information about how published materials can be used and what legal restrictions apply to different types of publications

Research Methods Knowledge Base, CCHE Users' Guide to Qualitative Research in Health Care, Health Research System Analysis Initiative, research handbooks from World Bank and IDRC, questionnaire databases, clinical trials registration sites, research ethics guidelines, CONSORT and other reporting guidelines, AuthorAID, international funding sources, and other health research resources

Open courseware sites such as Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, learning modules from BMJ, MedlinePlus tutorials, teaching modules from WHO, image banks such as the Public Health Image Library at CDC, medical videos from NIH and WHO, and other free sources for teaching and training materials

The Cochrane Library, AHRQ, the National Guideline Clearinghouse, NICE, the Medline/PubMed filters for meta-analyses, reviews, and RCTs, the clinical query option at Medline/PubMed, BMJ Clinical Evidence and other EBM literature available free-of-charge via HINARI or national provision to LICs, and other free resources related to evidence based practice

Instruction

At the course meetings, each topic is introduced with a short lecture followed by a live online demonstration. The participants then carry out hands-on exercises with the relevant resources. This work is supported by a course reference book, which is provided both in print form and as a CD with live links. Group work is used for certain subjects such as formulation of advanced Boolean searches and use of filters. During the final part of the course, participants reinforce what they have learned by preparing a short guide about how information on a specific health topic can be accessed in a particular LIC. Teaching is interactive, and all lectures, readings, assignments, and exercises are in English.

Assessment

Assessment is based on the hands-on exercises (30%), group work (20%), short written quizzes based on readings in the course reference book (20%), and each participant's individual guide to online resources on a specific topic (30%). Participants who do not receive a passing grade have the right to redo their course work, including examinations and assignments.

Other regulations

Applicants should also have basic knowledge about information seeking in medicine and health, as well as experience with key resources. They should already know how to carry out Boolean searches, where to search for references to journal articles, books, and grey literature, the difference between a catalouge and a bibliographic database, how to acces full-text literatur through their own university libraries, and how to use search engines, directories, digital libraries, and gateways to find non-literatur information resources. In addition, they should already be familiar with basic ethical and legal guidelines regarding copyrights and the downloading and use of online materials. They should be competent in using bibliographic software such EndNote and should understand how to handle references and passages correctly in their own texts. Applicants who do not have this basic knowledge should first take an introductory course, such as 'Information seeking in medicine and health' offered by Uppsala University.

Applicants who do not have this basic knowledge should first take the course "Information Seeking in Medicine and Health" offered by Uppsala University.

This is a core course within the Master programme in International health. Other students, e.g. from the TropEd Europe network, may join the course. Priority will be given to applicants who take this course as part of the Master Programme in International health.