Integrating Medical Librarians in Evidence-Based Medical Practice in Africa: A Survey of Current Practices and Challenges.

Librarians' involvement in Evidence-Based Medical Practice (EBMP) has been widely reported from the Global North. The cross-sectional study designed a survey to investigate how African medical librarians integrate into EBMP. The respondents comprised medical librarians from 12 African countries. Findings revealed that African medical librarians are mostly involved in EBMP activities related to resource use, management, and evidence dissemination. The leading EBMP tools reportedly used or promoted by the librarians include UpToDate and Cochrane Library, while the leading challenges encountered in offering support for EBMP are related to skill deficiency, poor funding, and poor internet connectivity.

Involving libraries in improving health literacy to achieve Sustainable Development Goal-3 in developing economies: a literature review.

BACKGROUND: The Goal 3 (SDG-3) of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) incorporates 13 targets that cut across pressing health concerns globally. Health literacy has however been linked to achieving good health in the society, and its improvement in developing economies could aid the achievement of SDG-3. OBJECTIVE: The review focused on identifying actions that can be implemented by libraries to enhance health literacy and access to information among health care practitioners and consumers to support the achievement of SDG-3 in developing countries, especially Nigeria. METHOD: A literature search was conducted on reputable academic databases, namely sciencedirect, doaj, google scholar, pubmed and jstor. Similar keyword combinations were used to obtain articles, with filters set to search the keywords in article titles or abstract. Relevant criteria were used to screen the literature. RESULTS: Results from the literature searching were grouped under six themes that emerged from the literature. The value of libraries in health care was discussed, and suggestions were made for implementation in libraries. CONCLUSION: It was concluded that libraries in developing economies have to take actions to improve users' health literacy in order to become prominent stakeholders in the process of achieving SDG-3.

Adolescent sleep health in Africa: a scoping review protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Problematic sleep is a major threat to health and quality of life among adolescents. Hence, to provide directions for research and interventions, there is a need to examine the literature on adolescent sleep health in Africa. However, available studies on adolescent sleep health in Africa have not been properly mapped. Thus, this scoping review aims to investigate the extent and type of available evidence concerning sleep health among adolescents in Africa and to highlight the relationship of adolescent sleep health with adverse mental health outcomes and cardiometabolic risk factors. The review will further highlight areas of agreement and controversies on adolescent sleep health, and identify evidence gaps that require research attention across the continent. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This scoping review will be conducted using Arksey and O'Malley's six-step procedure. Thus, we have prepared this protocol according to the framework for scoping reviews developed by the Joanna Briggs Institute. To identify eligible studies, we will search MEDLINE, Scopus, PsycINFO, AJOL, JSTOR, HINARI and Google Scholar. The review will include all published articles in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian languages on adolescent sleep health in Africa from the inception of the databases, while relevant information will be extracted from included studies using an adapted data extraction tool. The results will be presented using tables and charts as appropriate. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The scoping review does not require ethical approval because the publications to be used for the review are publicly available and the study does not involve contact with humans or other animals as research participants. Furthermore, clinical records will not be used for the study. Upon completion, findings from the study will be disseminated through presentations at scientific meetings and publication in a relevant peer-reviewed journal. SCOPING REVIEW REGISTRATION: Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/5sjwq/).

Adapting public health response through lessons learnt: Nigeria's experience from Lassa fever and COVID-19.

Response to public health emergencies requires continued adaptation and innovation. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) is the country's public health institute with the mandate to protect the health of Nigerians. Achieving such mandate in resource-limited settings with divergent demographic characteristics of the citizens, necessitates the readiness to learn from experience and to develop policies and activities in line with lessons learnt and best practices. This practice paper describes the initiatives of the NCDC towards adapting its public health response activities by establishing learning systems across its structure. The paper informs on some of the steps taken by the Centre regarding learning from the Lassa fever outbreak and the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria. It concludes that commitment and investments are key requirements for learning and adapting public health responses to achieve success with combating infectious diseases.

Investigating information literacy skills perception and practices among medical and non-medical first-year students at a Nigerian university

Background: The study appraisedthe perceived information literacy proficiency of first-year students enrolled in the faculties of Basic Medical Sciences, Clinical Sciences, and pure Sciences at the University of Medical Sciences(UNIMED)in Ondo City, Nigeria. Method:Employing a correlational descriptive survey methodology, 120 students were proportionately selectedfrom the first-year students'population in the three faculties surveyed. The response rate was84%. Data for the study was collected using a questionnaire sectioned into four or five-point Likert scales. For the data analysis, the responses were rated 4, 3, 2,and 1 points or 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1,respectively, depending on the questionnaire section.Results:Based on our rubric, the students reported average-level information literacy skills and high-level internet navigation skills. The ability to utilise information effectively had the highest rating (x̄= 2.9/4.0),while the ability to access information was the lowest(x̄=2.7/4.0). The students also reported Google(x̄= 4.1/5.0), subject textbooks, and peers as the most frequentlyutilisedinformation sources, while academicsources such as journal databases(x̄=2.3/5.0), library catalogues, and librarians were the least used. No statistically significant distinctions were observed in the information literacy capabilities of first-year students from the three faculties or secondary school backgrounds. Conclusion:To promote acquiringinformation literacy skills for academic success and lifelong learning, this study emphasises the necessity for increased awareness and training on the effective usage of scholarly sources among first-year students in Nigerian universities.