Information prescriptions, 1930–2013: an international history and comprehensive review

• Published in: Journal of the Medical Library Association Vol. 102; no. 4; pp. 271 - 280
• Main Author: McKnight, Michelynn
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Medical Library Association 01.10.2014; University Library System, University of Pittsburgh
• Subjects: Consumer Health Information - history; Consumer Health Information - statistics & numerical data; Controlled vocabularies; Evidence-based medicine; History, 20th Century; History, 21st Century; Humans; Information Dissemination - history; Information Storage and Retrieval - history; Libraries, Medical - history; Libraries, Medical - organization & administration; Library Science - history; Library Services - history; Library Services - statistics & numerical data; Management; Medical librarians; Medical libraries; Mental disorders; Methods; Patient Education as Topic - history; Patient Education as Topic - statistics & numerical data; Personal health; Physicians; Practice; Studies; United States; United Kingdom > UK; United States > US
• ISSN: 1536-5050; 1558-9439; 1558-9439
• DOI: 10.3163/1536-5050.102.4.008

Recently, government agencies in several countries have promoted information prescription programs to increase patients' understanding of their conditions. The practice has a long history and many publications, but no comprehensive literature reviews such as this. Using a variety of high-precision and high-recall strategies, the researcher searched two dozen online bibliographic databases, citation databases, and repositories, as well as many print sources, to identify and retrieve documents for review. Of these documents, ninety relevant English-language case reports, research reports, and reviews published from 1930-2013 met the study criteria. Early to mid-twentieth century reports covered long-standing practices and used no rigorous research methods. The literature since the mid-1990s reports on short-term trial projects, especially of government-sponsored programs in the United States and United Kingdom. Although the concept of information prescription has been in the literature and practiced for decades, no long-term research studies were found. Most of the literature is anecdotal concerning small pilot projects. The reports investigate physician, patient, and librarian satisfaction but not changes in patient knowledge or behavior. Many twenty-first century projects emphasize materials and projects from specific government agencies and commercial enterprises. While the practice is commonly believed to be a good idea and there are many publications on the subject, few studies provide any evidence of the efficacy of information prescriptions for increased patient knowledge. Well-designed and executed large or long-term studies might produce needed evidence for professional practice.