Meeting Report: Digest-Able
Digest-Able: Creating Information Products to Combat Overload
Training day attended at NES on the 1st of February 2007 delivered by Andrew Booth of the School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR) and Alison Winning of NHS Quality Improvement Scotland.
Before attending this event I was intrigued as to what exactly creating an ‘Information Digest’ involved. I had the idea that it was an extension of the good old Current Awareness Bulletins we all produce, containing a bit more detail in the form of a summary to go with the references. I was wrong in thinking this, as Digests are a unique information product and are a good example of the type of ‘value-added’ information services which can be provided by today’s information professionals.
An Information Digest or Briefing provides users with a summary of evidence on a particular topic using a structured format. They are intended to be well-researched, using a number of resources ranging from databases, journals, government documents, and literature from relevant bodies. A digest should be able to give the reader a set of key messages which help answer the topical question as well as pointing to further sources of information and examples of good practice. The format it is presented in is almost as vital as the methodology used in its creation. It needs to be presented in a way which is easy for the reader to follow and can therefore make optimum use of the information.
The day began with a presentation from Andrew on the need for digests and briefings. As is often the case, a shortage of time for healthcare staff to locate information and appraise it effectively is a major external driver for the creation of digests. For the librarian, a digest is a good way of promoting the service by creating this time-saving product and extending the role of information and library staff. I found this interesting and began to think of hot topics I cover in my current awareness bulletins and how I could apply the methodology to produce a digest of my own.
The next presentation was by Alison and covered desirable features and principles to have in mind when creating a digest. This was a good presentation and made clear that a digest was a summary of the evidence rather than a systematic review. The creator is not required to interpret the evidence but to convey the messages contained within it. The need for it to be reader-friendly through the 1:3:25 approach was a major point. For those of you unfamiliar with this concept I will attempt to explain it. The 1 stands for the key message of the digest to be conveyed in one line. The 3 stands for three sentences which can summarise why the issue or topic is important, what the research indicates, and what action can be taken. The 25 lines are used to go into greater detail providing resource information, examples of good practice, and contact details etc.
We then looked at the different formats of digests with examples of some created for areas such as clinical effectiveness, management and social care. It was interesting to see the variety of approaches which can be taken while still adhering to the practice of making them as relevant and reader-friendly as possible.
In the final section of the day it was our turn to try and create our own small digest in a practical group work exercise. We split into four small groups having voted for which digest we would like to work on. I chose to be in the management group creating a digest on diversity and equality in the workplace. We were given raw materials in the form of paper copies of documents obtained through a literature search. It was a bit daunting at first trying to sift through the materials and decide what was most relevant to our topic but things became clearer and it helped having an example of a management digest to refer to in terms of what format and structure it was to take. I found it very useful to have some hands-on, practical work and the positive feedback we had from Andrew and Alison was rewarding.
The day was an interesting and worthwhile experience and has now made me want to try out creating my very own information digest….hmm….which topic should I tackle first?
Further reading
- Booth, A. (2005) Satisfy managers' information needs: become a knowledge broker! Inform 16(1): 6-8.
- Bouchier, H. and Booth, A. (2004) Briefing encounters: developing information products in social care. Inform 15(1): 1-4.
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Carroll, C., Cooke, J., Booth, A. and Beverley, C. (2006) Bridging the gap: the development of knowledge briefings at the health and social care interface. Health and Social Care in the Community 14(6): 491-498.
Paul Herbert
Assistant Librarian
Robert Lamb Library
Education Centre
Inverclyde Royal Hospital
Larkfield Road
Greenock
PA16 0XN
Email: Paul.herbert@irh.scot.nhs.uk