Aim: To record the stories and experiences of health information professionals practising across Europe
Methods: Interviews, surveys, and focus groups were used to gather data to understand the roles of information professionals, and how they support healthcare.
Discussion: The focus groups provided exploratory data to support the design of the survey. The survey produced 513 fully completed responses, predominantly females (429), and 77 males, with 5 not disclosing their gender. Most respondents work in state healthcare (273), and/or in education (186), with 30 working in the charity and voluntary sector, 21 in industry, 17 in private healthcare, and 55 in other organisations. The main user groups are students, doctors, researchers, nurses and allied health professionals. The respondents are engaged in a wide range of roles. Top challenges are shrinking budgets, problems with time and workload, and too many differing priorities. Participants identified a wide range of skills used in their jobs, including LIS-specific skills as well as technical skills, management skills, ‘soft skills’ and personal qualities. They acquired these skills mainly in the workplace or at library school. Technical skills were high on the list of development needs. Many respondents felt they made an impact on healthcare provision mainly through their evidence-based work, or teaching.
Conclusions: Roles have developed, encompassing healthcare challenges, often embracing technologies and pushing the boundaries of traditional library roles. This study enhances our understanding of the complexity of the domain, how it is evolving and impacting on healthcare.
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)