UK survey demonstrates a wide range of impacts attributable to clinical librarian services

Abstract

Objective To understand the impact of the UK Clinical Librarian (CL) workforce and benchmark the results against a study undertaken in the North West region of the English National Health Service (NHS). Methods An online survey was distributed by CLs to their service users regarding literature searches that had been carried out on their behalf in the 6 months from April to October 2017. Interviews were later carried out in person with selected respondents to the questionnaires. Results CLs across the UK contribute to a wide range of outcomes, with 41% of search requests contributing to the choice of intervention, and 41% also to the advice offered by the clinician requester to a patient or their carer. These results are in line with the previous work undertaken in the North West. Discussion CLs provide diverse services to clinical teams. They support the continuing professional development and personal research needs of team members, service development needs of organisations, and the information provided contributes to improved quality and safety of patient care. Conclusion The survey confirms the findings of the earlier NW study. It demonstrates the impact of services based around literature searching on patient care.