How research into healthcare staff use and non-use of e-books led to planning a joint approach to e-book policy and practice across UK and Ireland healthcare libraries.

The research goals were to obtain an understanding of who the users of e-books in the NHS are, what they are using e-books for, and when and how they use them. This article presents the methodology used and the findings from the research. It also explores the outputs and next steps from the research, both for the individual countries and collectively. The Five Nations group, (library leads in England, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Scotland and Wales) commissioned research into healthcare staff use and non-use of e-books to understand the behaviours, needs and expectations of healthcare staff and to identify shared challenges around e-books to inform policy and practice.

Effective Dementia Education and Training for the Health and Social Care Workforce: A Systematic Review of the Literature.

Ensuring an informed and effective dementia workforce is of international concern; however, there remains limited understanding of how this can be achieved. This review aimed to identify features of effective dementia educational programs. Critical interpretive synthesis underpinned by Kirkpatrick's return on investment model was applied. One hundred and fifty-two papers of variable quality were included. Common features of more efficacious educational programs included the need for educational programs to be relevant to participants' role and experience, involve active face-to-face participation, underpin practice-based learning with theory, be delivered by an experienced facilitator, have a total duration of at least 8 hours with individual sessions of 90 minutes or more, support application of learning in practice, and provide a structured tool or guideline to guide care practice. Further robust research is required to develop the evidence base; however, the findings of this review have relevance for all working in workforce education.

Does radiography advanced practice improve patient outcomes and health service quality? A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact of radiographer advanced practice on patient outcomes and health service quality. METHODS: Using the World Health Organization definition of quality, this review followed the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination guidance for undertaking reviews in healthcare. A range of databases were searched using a defined search strategy. Included studies were assessed for quality using a tool specifically developed for reviewing studies of diverse designs, and data were systematically extracted using electronic data extraction pro forma. RESULTS: 407 articles were identified and reviewed against the inclusion/exclusion criteria. Nine studies were included in the final review, the majority (n = 7) focusing on advanced radiography practice within the UK. Advanced practice activities considered were radiographer reporting, leading patient review clinics and barium enema examinations. The articles were generally considered to be of low-to-moderate quality, with most evaluating advanced practice within a single centre. With respect to specific quality dimensions, the included studies considered cost reduction, patient morbidity, time to treatment and patient satisfaction. No articles reported data relating to time to diagnosis, time to recovery or patient mortality. CONCLUSION: Radiographer advanced practice is an established activity both in the UK and internationally. However, evidence of the impact of advanced practice in terms of patient outcomes and service quality is limited. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE: This systematic review is the first to examine the evidence base surrounding advanced radiography practice and its impact on patient outcomes and health service quality.