The complex relationship between archival records and institutions, power, and history making is a shared concern of both archival and feminist research and praxis. This paper reports key findings of a critical literature review that examines the presence and prevalence of critical feminist theories, practices, and approaches employed in archival studies research between 1973-2024. Our key findings highlight how feminist approaches not only serve archival studies research that aims to promote visibility, credibility, control, and care to communities whose voices have been systematically excluded from mainstream archives but also encourages an array of archival functions and practices embedded in critical intersectional feminist values, methods, and ethics.

Over the past twenty-five years, the Medical Library Association (MLA) has pursued a range of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. This article, written by members of the Journal of the Medical Library Association (JMLA)’s Equity Advisory Group (EAG), outlines significant measures taken to raise awareness about specific concepts, opportunities, and challenges related to DEI among MLA members. Topics discussed include the impact of influential Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) leaders, the establishment of DEI and social justice-focused membership communities, and specific initiatives led by various working groups and committees which have served to strengthen MLA’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion during the last three decades.

Dietary patterns of pregnant women are closely related to cultural values, beliefs, and various social and economic factors. Knowledge of the food choices and practices among pregnant Aboriginal and immigrant women, who both are vulnerable to poor pregnancy and birth outcomes, is essential for midwives and other maternity care providers to provide culturally appropriate care during pregnancy. A “scoping review,” guided by Arksey and O’Malley’s framework, was performed to examine and outline the extent, range, and nature of empirical evidence on immigrant and Aboriginal women’s food practices during pregnancy. Assisted by an information scientist, a systematic search strategy without language or date restrictions was implemented in several electronic databases to identify primary research articles on the subject. Two reviewers independently screened, selected, and charted the data, and team consensus was used for discrepancies. A descriptive analytical framework was followed to depict the existing narrative account of the included studies. Seventeen articles describing seven qualitative and ten quantitative research studies were selected for review, and nine themes were identified. This review will help midwives and other maternity care providers gain an understanding of the importance of culture for Aboriginal and immigrant women’s diets and of existing barriers so that prenatal care can be individually tailored to include nutritional advice and to optimize culturally appropriate care. More individual studies that focus on the cultural aspects of immigrants and Aboriginal pregnant women are needed to improve prenatal care. This article has been peer reviewed.

This paper reports on a systematic literature review of CAIS/ACSI and ASIS&T conference proceedings to identify, analyze, and map the application of feminist theories, methods, and epistemologies across a sample of LIS research. We seek a better understanding of feminist theories in LIS to a) identify how/where it has been taken up (and not taken up); b) identify feminist research themes and influence over time and across subdomains; and c) to consider how to build on intersectional feminist theories and praxis in LIS to move toward a critical intersectional femiLISt movement that is embraced and embedded within our field.

This paper reports on a systematic literature review of CAIS/ACSI and ASIS&T conferenceproceedings in order to identify, analyze, and map the presence and application of feministtheories, methods, and epistemologies across a sample of LIS research projects. We seek a betterunderstanding of the application of feminist theories to LIS in order to a) identify how/where ithas been taken up (and not taken up); b) identify feminist research themes and influence overtime and across sub-domains; and perhaps most importantly, c) to consider how we might buildon intersectional feminist theories and praxis in LIS in order to move toward a criticalintersectional femiLISt movement that is embraced and embedded within our field.

Background Telephone consultations between physicians provide quick access to medical advice, allowing patients to be cared for by calling physicians in their local settings. Objective As part of a quality assurance study of a physician-to-physician consultation program in Alberta, Canada, this environmental scan aims to identify the characteristics and outcomes of physician-to-physician telephone consultation programs across several countries. Methods We searched 7 databases to identify English publications in 2007-2017 describing physician-to-physician consultations using telephones as the main technology. To identify Canadian programs, the literature search was supplemented with an additional internet search. Results The literature search yielded 2336 citations, of which 17 publications were included. Across 7 countries, 14 telephone consultation programs provided primary care providers with access to various specialists through hotlines, paging systems, or call centers. The programs reported on the avoidance of hospitalizations, emergency department visits and specialty visits, caller satisfaction with the telephone consultation, and cost avoidance. Conclusions Telephone consultation programs between health care providers have facilitated access to specialist care and prevented acute care use.

The Journal of the Medical Library Association (JMLA) recently issued a call for submissions that recognize and address social injustices; speak to diversity, equity, and inclusion in our workforce and among our user populations; and share critical perspectives on health sciences librarianship as well as those on any topic within JMLA’s scope written by authors who are Black, Indigenous, or People of Color. We also committed to creating more equitable opportunities for authors, reviewers, and editorial board members from marginalized groups. As part of this effort, we conducted a demographic survey of all individuals who served as a member of the JMLA editorial board or reviewer or had submitted a manuscript to JMLA between 2018 and 2020. We found that most survey respondents are white, heterosexual, women and do not identify with a disability, meaning that JMLA is missing out on a diversity of perspectives and life experiences that could improve the journal’s processes and policies, enrich its content, and accelerate the research and practice of health sciences librarianship. Therefore, to avoid perpetuating or aggravating systemic biases and power structures in scholarly publishing or health sciences librarianship, we pledge to take concrete steps toward making JMLA a more diverse and inclusive journal.

In 2020, the Journal of the Medical Library Association (JMLA) launched an initiative aimed at providing more equitable opportunities for authors, reviewers, and editorial team members. This editorial provides an update on the steps we have taken thus far to empower authors, increase the diversity of our editorial team, and make equity-minded recommendations to the Medical Library Association.

Background An accurate assessment of the adequacy of prenatal care utilization is critical to inform the relationship between prenatal care and pregnancy outcomes. This systematic review critically appraises the evidence on measurement properties of prenatal care utilization indices and provides recommendations about which index is the most useful for this purpose. Methods MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Web of Science were systematically searched from database inception to October 2018 using keywords related to indices of prenatal care utilization. No language restrictions were imposed. Studies were included if they evaluated the reliability, validity, or responsiveness of at least one index of adequacy of prenatal care utilization. We used the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist. We conducted an evidence synthesis using predefined criteria to appraise the measurement properties of the indices. Results From 2664 studies initially screened, 13 unique studies evaluated the measurement properties of at least one index of prenatal care utilization. Most of the indices of adequacy of prenatal care currently used in research and clinical practice have been evaluated for at least some form of reliability and/or validity. Evidence about the responsiveness to change of these indices is absent from these evaluations. The Adequacy Perinatal Care Utilization Index (APNCUI) and the Kessner Index are supported by moderate evidence regarding their reliability, predictive and concurrent validity. Conclusion The scientific literature has not comprehensively reported the measurement properties of commonly used indices of prenatal care utilization, and there is insufficient research to inform the choice of the best index. Lack of strong evidence about which index is the best to measure prenatal care utilization has important implications for tracking health care utilization and for formulating prenatal care recommendations.

BACKGROUND:Following patient preferences at the end of life should improve outcomes of care, yet patient preferences regarding bladder and bowel care are not often accommodated, as they are not well known in the literature.AIMS:This scoping review sought to identify bladder and bowel care preferences of patients at the end of life in published literature.METHODS:Papers published in or after 1997 (in English) that focused on adult preferences for bladder and bowel care at the end of life were included.FINDINGS:Scant literature exists on preferences for bladder and bowel care for adult patients at end of life. Further investigation is warranted to arrive at a better understanding of preferences regarding bladder and bowel symptom management.CONCLUSIONS:Future research should explore if prioritising the symptoms caused by incontinence, among the many symptoms experienced at the end of life, could be achieved through careful questioning and development of a standardised tool focused on improving patient care and incorporating patient preferences for care.

Canada relies on newcomers for population growth, labor supply, and cultural diversity. Newcomers, in turn, see Canada as a haven of economic opportunities. However, the extent to which these mutual benefits can be realized depends on how well newcomers fare in Canada. Intimate partner violence (IPV) significantly undermines immigrants’ capacity to rebuild their lives in host societies. As in other Western democracies, recent immigrants and refugees to Canada are highly vulnerable to IPV; they arrive with limited support systems, wrestle with changing family dynamics, and may have to adapt to new gender roles. IPV often occurs in the private domain of the family and poses serious risks to women, children, families, and the broader society. Our scoping review of 30 articles on IPV within Canadian immigrant groups identifies crucial differences in perceptions and experiences of, responses to, and coping mechanisms among female survivors, and a tendency to place the blame for IPV on the cultural values and practices that immigrants bring to Canada. The majority of existing services and policies, our review shows, are not well suited to immigrant women’s needs and may undermine women’s capacity to find satisfying solutions. Our review is limited by a dearth of literature; it is based mainly on the experiences of South East Asian immigrant women in the Greater Toronto Area. Our findings suggest that future research should address women’s and men’s experiences of IPV, include nonheterosexual couples, extend to the broader immigrant population, and incorporate the voices of stakeholders other than survivors.

Background: Iron deficiency (ID) is the leading single-nutrient deficiency in the world. Anaemia is a common outcome of ID that affects half of pregnancies worldwide with serious consequences for child development. Whether haematologic indices and biomarkers of iron status in pregnant women correlate with those of their neonates is unclear. This systematic review evaluated studies comparing haematologic and iron status indices in pregnant women and their newborns/neonates. Methods: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Web of Science from database inception until March 2020 for primary studies comparing haematologic and iron status indices between women and their newborns up to 48 h after birth. We summarized the results descriptively and calculated pooled correlation coefficients in mothers and newborns/neonates using the Schmidt-Hunter method. The protocol was registered at PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (Registration number: CRD42018093094). Findings: Sixty-five studies were included. Pooled correlation coefficients for biomarkers of iron status in mothers and newborns/neonates were 0.13 (ferritin), 0.42 (hepcidin), 0.30 (serum/plasma iron), 0.09 (transferrin), 0.20 (transferrin saturation), and 0.16 (total iron binding capacity). Pooled correlation coefficients for haematological indices in mothers and newborns/neonates were 0.15 (haemoglobin), 0.15 (haematocrit), 0.25 (mean cell/corpuscular haemoglobin), 0.22 (mean cell/corpuscular volume). Interpretation: Maternal biomarkers of iron and haematologic status correlate poorly with those in newborns/neonates. These results underscore a need for alternative approaches to estimate foetal/neonatal iron status and haematological indices. (C) 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Objectives Gestational alloimmune liver disease (GALD) is one of the most common causes of neonatal liver failure, associated with high mortality and morbidity. Antenatal intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) has become a promising treatment option. The objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of antenatal IVIG therapy for GALD in reducing perinatal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. Methods Electronic databases (MEDLINE, Scopus, PROSPERO, Cochrane, CINAHL) were searched from inception until January 1, 2017 with the terms: "gestational alloimmune liver disease", "neonatal hemochromatosis", and "treatment or therapy or intervention." Outcomes were perinatal and neonatal mortality, liver transplantation, and iatrogenic preterm delivery. Results Sixteen studies were included with n=73 matched pregnancies. Out of the 73 pregnancies treated with antenatal IVIG all of them had live births, surviving to discharge. Among control pregnancies all but 6 resulted in neonatal death (55/73) or intrauterine fetal demise (12/73). Of live births 10/67 liver transplants were reported of which 3 survived to discharge. None of the infants from treatment pregnancies required liver transplants. Gestational age of treatment pregnancies was 37.2 ± 2.3 weeks, only 11/73 control pregnancies reported gestational age. Conclusions Antenatal IVIG treatment significantly reduces perinatal and neonatal mortality in GALD and should be offered to all women with previously affected child(ren). Gestational alloimmune liver disease (GALD) is one of the most common causes of neonatal liver failure, associated with high mortality and morbidity. Antenatal intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) has become a promising treatment option. The objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of antenatal IVIG therapy for GALD in reducing perinatal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. Electronic databases (MEDLINE, Scopus, PROSPERO, Cochrane, CINAHL) were searched from inception until January 1, 2017 with the terms: "gestational alloimmune liver disease", "neonatal hemochromatosis", and "treatment or therapy or intervention." Outcomes were perinatal and neonatal mortality, liver transplantation, and iatrogenic preterm delivery. Sixteen studies were included with n=73 matched pregnancies. Out of the 73 pregnancies treated with antenatal IVIG all of them had live births, surviving to discharge. Among control pregnancies all but 6 resulted in neonatal death (55/73) or intrauterine fetal demise (12/73). Of live births 10/67 liver transplants were reported of which 3 survived to discharge. None of the infants from treatment pregnancies required liver transplants. Gestational age of treatment pregnancies was 37.2 ± 2.3 weeks, only 11/73 control pregnancies reported gestational age. Antenatal IVIG treatment significantly reduces perinatal and neonatal mortality in GALD and should be offered to all women with previously affected child(ren).

Background Experimental designs for evaluating knowledge translation (KT) interventions can provide strong estimates of effectiveness but offer limited insight into how the intervention worked. Consequently, process evaluations have been used to explore the causal mechanisms at work; however, there are limited standards to guide this work. This study synthesizes current evidence of KT process evaluations to provide future methodological recommendations. Methods Peer-reviewed search strategies were developed by a health research librarian. Studies had to be in English, published since 1996, and were not excluded based on design. Studies had to (1) be a process evaluation of a KT intervention study in primary health, (2) be a primary research study, and (3) include a licensed healthcare professional delivering or receiving the intervention. A two-step, two-person hybrid screening approach was used for study inclusion with inter-rater reliability ranging from 94 to 95%. Data on study design, data collection, theoretical influences, and approaches used to evaluate the KT intervention, analysis, and outcomes were extracted by two reviewers. Methodological quality was assessed with the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT). Results Of the 20,968 articles screened, 226 studies fit our inclusion criteria. The majority of process evaluations used qualitative forms of data collection (43.4%) and individual interviews as the predominant data collection method. 72.1% of studies evaluated barriers and/or facilitators to implementation. 59.7% of process evaluations were stand-alone evaluations. The timing of data collection varied widely with post-intervention data collection being the most frequent (46.0%). Only 38.1% of the studies were informed by theory. Furthermore, 38.9% of studies had MMAT scores of 50 or less indicating poor methodological quality. Conclusions There is widespread acceptance that the generalizability of quantitative trials of KT interventions would be significantly enhanced through complementary process evaluations. However, this systematic review found that process evaluations are of mixed quality and lack theoretical guidance. Most process evaluation data collection occurred post-intervention undermining the ability to evaluate the process of implementation. Strong science and methodological guidance is needed to underpin and guide the design and execution of process evaluations in KT science. Registration This study is not registered with PROSPERO.

Background: There is growing demand for specialized services in academic libraries, including supporting systematic reviews and measuring research impact. Study Purpose: The John W. Scott Health Sciences Library implemented a fee-based pilot project for the Faculty of Nursing for one year to test a fee-based model for specialized services, to evaluate its sustainability and scalability for the longer term, and to assess the feasibility of extending this service model to other health sciences faculties. Case Presentation: We describe the development and delivery of the fee-based service model. Through a team-based approach, we successfully provided specialized services including mediated literature searching, research support, and research impact analyses to the Faculty of Nursing. Discussion: Despite some challenges in developing and implementing the fee-based service model, our pilot project demonstrated demand for fee-based specialized services in the health sciences and suggests potential for this unique service model to continue and expand.

Objective: This systematic review synthesized and evaluated the evidence on the prevalence of postpartum mental health disorders in Indigenous women. Methods: Comprehensive searches of biomedical electronic databases including Medline, EMBASE, PsychINFO, CINAHL, and Web of Science were performed for peer-reviewed literature published from 1990 to September 2018. The search strategy included terms related to the postpartum period, mental health disorders, and Indigenous ancestry. Epidemiological observational studies that evaluated the prevalence of mental health disorders in the postpartum and included Indigenous women from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States were included. Two independent reviewers screened and evaluated the risk of bias of included studies. A narrative synthesis of study results was conducted. Prevalence estimates from homogeneous studies were pooled in a random-effects meta-analysis (Canadian Task Force Classification II-2). Results: A total of 2297 references were initially identified, of which six studies were included in the review. All included studies evaluated the prevalence of postpartum depression (PPD) and were of moderate or low risk of bias. Other postpartum mental health disorders were not evaluated. Overall, Indigenous women had 87% increased odds of PPD compared with Caucasian groups of women (odds ratio 1.87; 95% confidence interval 1.14-3.09). Substantial heterogeneity across prevalence estimates was observed. Conclusion: Limited evidence suggests a greater burden of PPD affecting Indigenous women. There is insufficient evidence informing the prevalence of other postpartum mental health disorders in Indigenous women. More epidemiological research in this area is essential to provide accurate and reliable prevalence estimates of postpartum mental health disorders among Indigenous women.

Background Aging populations are at increased risk of postoperative complications. New methods to provide care for older people recovering from surgery may reduce surgery-related complications. Comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) has been shown to improve some outcomes for medical patients, such as enabling them to continue living at home, and has been proposed to have positive impacts for surgical patients. CGA is a coordinated, multidisciplinary collaboration that assesses the medical, psychosocial and functional capabilities and limitations of an older person, with the goal of establishing a treatment plan and long-term follow-up. Objectives To assess the effectiveness of CGA interventions compared to standard care on the postoperative outcomes of older people admitted to hospital for surgical care. Search methods We searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL and two clinical trials registers on 13 January 2017. We also searched grey literature for additional citations. Selection criteria Randomized trials of people undergoing surgery aged 65 years and over comparing CGA with usual surgical care and reporting any of our primary (mortality and discharge to an increased level of care) or secondary (length of stay, re-admission, total cost and postoperative complication) outcomes. We excluded studies if the participants did not receive a complete CGA, did not undergo surgery, and if the study recruited participants aged less than 65 years or from a setting other than an acute care hospital. Data collection and analysis Two review authors independently screened, assessed risk of bias, extracted data and assessed certainty of evidence from identified articles. We expressed dichotomous treatment effects as risk ratio (RR) with 95% confidence intervals and continuous outcomes as mean difference (MD). Main results We included eight randomised trials, seven recruited people recovering from a hip fracture (N = 1583) and one elective surgical oncology trial (N = 260), conducted in North America and Europe. For two trials CGA was done pre-operatively and postoperatively for the remaining. Six trials had adequate randomization, five had low risk of performance bias and four had low risk of detection bias. Blinding of participants was not possible. All eight trials had low attrition rates and seven reported all expected outcomes. CGA probably reduces mortality in older people with hip fracture (RR 0.85, 95% CI 0.68 to 1.05; 5 trials, 1316 participants, I-2 = 0%; moderate-certainty evidence). The intervention reduces discharge to an increased level of care (RR 0.71, 95% CI 0.55 to 0.92; 5 trials, 941 participants, I-2 = 0%; high-certainty evidence). Length of stay was highly heterogeneous, with mean difference between participants allocated to the intervention and the control groups ranging between -12.8 and 8.3 days. CGA probably leads to slightly reduced length of stay (4 trials, 841 participants, moderate-certainty evidence). The intervention probably makes little or no difference in re-admission rates (RR 1.00, 95% CI 0.76 to 1.32; 3 trials, 741 participants, I-2 = 37%; moderate-certainty evidence). CGA probably slightly reduces total cost (1 trial, 397 participants, moderate-certainty evidence). The intervention may make little or no difference for major postoperative complications (2 trials, 579 participants, low-certainty evidence) and delirium rates (RR 0.75, 95% CI 0.60 to 0.94, 3 trials, 705 participants, I (2) = 0%; low-certainty evidence). Authors' conclusions There is evidence that CGA can improve outcomes in people with hip fracture. There are not enough studies to determine when CGA is most effective in relation to surgical intervention or if CGA is effective in surgical patients presenting with conditions other than hip fracture.

Background Adverse outcomes in adolescent pregnancies have been attributed to both biological immaturity and social determinants of health (SDOH). The present systematic review evaluated the evidence on the association between SDOH and adverse maternal and birth outcomes in adolescent mothers. Methods Comprehensive literature searches were conducted to identify observational studies evaluating the relationship between SDOH and adverse adolescent pregnancy outcomes. Study selection, risk of bias appraisal, and data extraction of study characteristics were independently performed by two reviewers. Pooled odds ratios (pOR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated to assess the association between SDOH and adverse birth outcomes. Results Thirty-one studies met the inclusion criteria. The most frequently evaluated SDOH was race while the most commonly reported maternal and birth outcomes were caesarean section and preterm birth (PTB), respectively. The risk of bias of included studies was fair on the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Meta-analyses of retrospective cohort studies showed that, compared to White adolescent mothers, African American teens had increased odds of PTB (pOR 1.67; 95% CI 1.59, 1.75) and low birthweight (pOR 1.53; 95% CI 1.45, 1.62). Rural residence was consistently linked with PTB while low maternal socio-economic (SES) and illiteracy were found to increase the risk of adolescent maternal mortality and LBW infants. Conclusion Social determinants of health contribute to the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes in adolescent mothers. African American race, rural residence, inadequate education, and low SES are markers for poor pregnancy outcomes in adolescent mothers. Further research needs to be done to understand the underlying causal pathways to inequalities in adolescent pregnancy outcomes.

Objective The paper provides a review of current practices related to evaluation support services reported by seven biomedical and research libraries. Methods A group of seven libraries from the United States and Canada described their experiences with establishing evaluation support services at their libraries. A questionnaire was distributed among the libraries to elicit information as to program development, service and staffing models, campus partnerships, training, products such as tools and reports, and resources used for evaluation support services. The libraries also reported interesting projects, lessons learned, and future plans. Results The seven libraries profiled in this paper report a variety of service models in providing evaluation support services to meet the needs of campus stakeholders. The service models range from research center cores, partnerships with research groups, and library programs with staff dedicated to evaluation support services. A variety of products and services were described such as an automated tool to develop rank-based metrics, consultation on appropriate metrics to use for evaluation, customized publication and citation reports, resource guides, classes and training, and others. Implementing these services has allowed the libraries to expand their roles on campus and to contribute more directly to the research missions of their institutions. Conclusions Libraries can leverage a variety of evaluation support services as an opportunity to successfully meet an array of challenges confronting the biomedical research community, including robust efforts to report and demonstrate tangible and meaningful outcomes of biomedical research and clinical care. These services represent a transformative direction that can be emulated by other biomedical and research libraries.