Miriam Keane, PHC RIS
 The Primary Care Internet Guide (developed by the Department of Public Health and Primary Health Care, University of Bergan, Norway) is a useful resource for practitioners, researchers, students and anyone else with an interest in Primary Health Care, and is a great place to start when searching for this information. It is an international website which provides lists of useful links.
Information is divided by care providers such as family and general practitioners, nurses, occupational therapists and geriatric specialists. For each of these areas there are links to mailing lists, relevant university and hospital departments, guidelines, databases, societies and software. Each link includes the country of origin, ensuring that the location of useful links is a quick and easy process. There are also resources relating to medical history and education, as well as miscellaneous Primary Care sites, and a list of news links and suggested useful search options.
Web: www.uib.no/isf/guide/public
The Public Health Association of Australia Inc (PHAA) lists its main function as 'provid[ing] a forum for the exchange of ideas, knowledge and information on public health'. As well as providing a good introduction to the Association, their website has several useful products for individuals and organisations involved in public health. There is a page of alphabetised links to other Public Health Organisations. Copies of their monthly newsletter 'In Touch' are available to download in PDF format, with issues going back to 2001. Some issues have a specific focus (February's is on obesity), whereas others cover a broader range of public health issues.
The Association also produces a bi-monthly journal. Content lists and selected abstracts from the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health are available from the website, and PHAA members can also access PDFs of the journal in a members only section. There are branches of PHAA in all States and territories of Australia and information on the activities of each of these is provided. There are fourteen special interest groups listed, covering such topics as mental health, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and rural health, among others. Links to pages about these groups provide various information on their activities, as well as contact details for the convenors.
Their annual conference in 2006 will be held 25-27 September in Sydney. Visit their website for further information.
Web: www.phaa.net.au
The Creativity Techniques website provides creative and innovative solutions for solving problems. The website provides over 200 creative techniques that one can apply to generate new ideas, or develop potential solutions. As they state:
"I like to think of these creativity techniques as tools in a toolbox in much the same way as my toolbox at home for DIY. It has a saw, spanner, hammer, knife and all sorts of other things in it, they are all very useful, but you have to pick the right tool (creativity technique) for each job. We will try and provide a little guidance along with each tool to let you know whether it's best used for cutting paper or putting in nails."
Creative 'tools' include:
- Analysis of Interactive Decision Areas
- Contradiction Analysis
- Decision seminar technique
- Factors in 'Selling' Ideas
- Stakeholder Analysis
Web: www.mycoted.com/creativity/techniques
Where's the evidence? This website, produced by the National Institute of Clinical Studies (NICS), is a guide to finding evidence on the internet to help health professionals experience the wealth of freely available resources that can be accessed online. It is continually updated so that the user is informed about the latest tips on useful sites and online searching. Users are asked to share tips on how to find and use reliable online resources effectively and efficiently, regardless of their level of familiarity with evidence searching - please email tips and suggestions to admin@nicsl.com.au.
As well as finding evidence, this website also offers critical appraisal, patient-centred evidence implementation, evaluation and suggestions for further reading. Australian examples are cited but the guide has applicability to health professionals everywhere.
While this guide provides some basic tips on how to find information on the internet, its main purpose is to point readers in the direction of specific sites, search engines and on-line tutorials on finding reliable sources of evidence that can help inform clinical decisions.
Web: http://wherestheevidence.nicsl.com.au
We have become increasingly familiar with the concept that there are different levels of evidence according to a structured hierarchy, with a systematic review of randomised controlled trials constituting the highest level. Current thinking suggests that there are three dimensions of evidence (strength, size of effect, and relevance) and within these dimensions are considerations such as quality, statistical precision, clinical importance, appropriateness and applicability. Not only has the scope of thinking around evidence been expanded, but a framework has been developed to formulate recommendations in light of the evidence.
The Flinders University Library hosts a guide to finding evidence, which outlines the "4S" hierarchy of services for finding evidence, developed by Professor R Brian Haynes. The 4 S's are systems, synopses, syntheses and studies. This guide provides links to resources under each of these headings.
Web: http://www.lib.flinders.edu.au/info/branch/medical/embhay.html
In addition, the NHMRC has released a document titled 'NHMRC additional levels of evidence and grades for recommendations for developers of guidelines or anyone with an interest in evidence-based health care. It can be found at www.nhmrc.gov.au/publications/_files/levels_grades05.pdf
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