Critical appraisal has become an absolutely crucial health science librarian skill. In this webinar, you’ll learn from Amy Blevins and Laura Menard, two of MLAs resident critical appraisal experts, how to identify, appraise, and interpret cohort studies–one of the most common study types health sciences librarians encounter and an important source of safety and efficacy information. In the process, you’ll learn basic tenets of evidence-based practice and skills you can apply to evaluating other study types.
Amy and Laura will take you through a recent retrospective cohort study that examines the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines in a large group of adolescents. They’ll show you how to evaluate study methodology, interpret results and their real-world implications, and determine if a study supports causal claims. You’ll also learn the differences between and the strengths and weaknesses of retrospective and prospective cohort studies.
You’ll leave with valuable new skills and a toolkit you can use to assess the methodology of any retrospective cohort study. If you work with clinicians, you’ll be able to provide high-quality information on the fly. If you teach, you’ll have a new skill to teach and you’ll be able to deepen your participation in a health sciences curriculum in your institution.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:
- Critically appraise retrospective cohort studies
- Identify the key features of retrospective and prospective cohort studies
- Describe the strengths and weaknesses of retrospective and prospective cohort studies
Audience
Health sciences librarians in academic and hospital settings and all other health information professionals who search for clinical research, teach evidence-based practice, or who want to develop skills in evidence-based medicine or evidence-based practice.
Presenters:
Amy Blevins oversees research, liaison, education, and data services at the Ruth Lilly Medical Library at the Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM)–Indianapolis. Since 2017, Ms. Blevins has served as the thread leader for evidence-based medicine (EBM) for IUSM. In addition to teaching MLA webinars, Ms. Blevins is a founding instructor for the Critical Appraisal Institute for Librarians and has been involved with other nationally recognized EBM workshops. She has worked on more than fourteen published systematic reviews and co-edited the book, Curriculum-Based Library Instruction: From Cultivating Faculty Relationships to Assessment.
Laura Menard is the assistant director for medical education and access services at the Ruth Lilly Medical Library of the Indiana School of Medicine, Indianapolis. She designs EBM curriculum components, delivers instruction, and trains colleagues on new concepts and instruction best practices. She has served as a librarian coach for several nationally-recognized EBP institutes and workshops, including Duke and McMaster.
Registration Information
- Length: 1.5 hour recorded webinar
- Technical information: After you have registered, go to My Learning in MEDLIB-ED to access the webinar, resources, evaluation, and certificate.
- Register, participate, and earn 1.5 MLA continuing education (CE) contact hours.
Course Includes
- 4 Lessons
- Course Certificate