The INFO Project Blog

The odds that you’ve ever performed an emergency search on cat scratch fever are probably very slim. But that’s exactly how a research librarian from Texas helped to save a young boy’s life. Elizabeth Cohen, “Empowered Patient” columnist from CNN Medical News, cites this example in her excellent review of consumer health information retrieval, Tips for Savvy Medical Web Surfing.

Most of her tips are directed towards searchers who intend to answer their own questions in consumer reference sources. I’m willing to bet, though, that clients exploring the professional medical literature would love to have the guidance of someone experienced in database search. Someone like you. Even if clinical medicine isn’t your forte, your knowledge of health databases like PubMed can make you a valuable search guide.

Terminology is a good place to start. Check the MeSH database section of PubMed to find the standardized terms for your subject. It turns out that the approved MeSH term for cat scratch fever is “cat-scratch disease”. Your client probably wants to start out with general information or an overview, so combine your subject term(s) with “Review [Publication Type]”. You can build and enter your PubMed search directly from the MeSH page. For vocabulary or search strategy help, try the excellent MeSH tutorials.

Other health-related databases have their own unique tools to aid your search construction. INFO’s One Source has a great knowledge map (above right) that lets you drill down to your subject through a classified list of topics. Suppose your client needs to review family planning options. One Source’s topic map can lead from broad topics such as “Family Planning Side Effects” down to specific concerns like “IUDs and Pelvic Inflammatory Disease”. You can also narrow by the keyword, “Literature Review”, to find overviews and general information.