Systematic Bibliographic Database Searching for Literature Reviews: Case Study on Child Protection Decision-Making

Author(s):  
Ravit Alfandari ◽  
Brian J Taylor

Abstract Skills of the ‘information age’ need to be applied to social work. Conceptual and practical aspects of using online bibliographic databases to identify research were explored using multi-professional decision-making in child protection as a case study. Five databases (Social Science Citation Index, Scopus, Medline, Social Work Abstracts and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials) were searched for relevant studies, retrieving 6,934 records of which fifty-eight studies were identified as relevant. The usefulness of specific search terms and the process of learning from the terminology of previous searches are illustrated, as well as the value of software to manage retrieved studies. Scopus had the highest sensitivity (retrieving the highest number of relevant articles) and retrieved the most articles not retrieved by any other database (exclusiveness). All databases had low precision on this topic, despite extensive efforts in selecting search terms. Cumulative knowledge about search strategies and empirical comparison of database utility helps to increase the efficiency of systematic literature searching. Such endeavours encourage and support professionals to use the best available evidence to inform practice and policy.

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 673-691 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joe Smeeton ◽  
Patrick O’Connor

This paper critically discusses the limitations of theorising social work from psychological and sociological perspectives and argues that phenomenology offers more opportunity to understand the embodied experiences of service users and social workers themselves. The paper argues that psychology and sociology have a limited analysis of being-in-the-world, which ought to be social work’s primary consideration. The paper offers an overview of the sociology of risk before embarking on an extensive description and discussion of Heidegger’s and Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology applied to the lived experience of child protection social workers working within risk society. The argument is put that phenomenology is a useful tool for understanding the lived experience of social work practitioners. Findings: The authors conclude that embodied social work practice containing fear and anxiety can be thought of as akin to taking part in extreme risk sports and that this is an unhealthy experience that is likely to skew decision-making and adversely affect the lives of social workers and service users. Applications: The authors argue that phenomenology can enhance understanding of practice and decision-making and offers insights into the lived experience of social workers. Phenomenology is useful for helping social workers negotiate risk-saturated environments, through a focus on meaning.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 647-667
Author(s):  
Qian Yang ◽  
Chunyan Yang ◽  
Yongqiong Deng ◽  
Qunhua Ma

Purpose: To systematically review the effectiveness of the external application, Ruyi Jinhuang powder, on phlebitis Methods: Relevant literature was retrieved from Medline, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure database (CNKI), Cochrane Central Register, Chongqing Vip, Wanfang Data and SinoMed using the search terms “Ruyi Jinhuang San”, “Ruyi Jinhuang powder”, “Ruyi Jinhuang cream”, “Agreeable golden powder”, “satisfactory golden powder”, “Jinhuang cream”, “phlebitis”, “prevention and (or) treatment”, “randomized controlled trials” and “RCRs”. Two researchers independently arranged and analyzed the data. Results: Significant differences were observed in the total effectiveness rate of Ruyi Jinhuang powder [relative risk (RR) = 1.27, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.19 to 1.36, and p < 0.0001). Ruyi Jinhuang powder can reduce the incidence of phlebitis versus conventional therapy in preventing phlebitis (RR = 0.32, 95 % CI 0.24 to 0.42, and p < 0.0001). Shorten the average healing time [mean difference (MD) =- 32.17, 95 % CI= -48.39 to -15.94, and p = 0.0001). Reduced pain relief time for phlebitis (MD = -3.29, 95% CI -5.42 to -1.16, and p = 0.002). However, no statistical difference was observed with regard to the onset time of phlebitis (MD = -0.62, 95 % CI -1.76 to 0.52, and p = 0.29). Conclusion: Clinicians consider Ruyi Jinhuang powder a viable complementary and alternative medicine for phlebitis following the stronger evidence being offered.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wanjin Qin ◽  
Peng Yang ◽  
Nanning Lv ◽  
Kaiwen Chen ◽  
Huilin Yang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The aim of this study was to evaluate the different clinical outcomes after removing or retaining syndesmotic screws, and the difference in clinical outcomes after retaining broken or loose syndesmotic screws was also evaluated. Methods A systematic literature search was performed using PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. In this meta-analysis, we conducted online searches using the search terms “syndesmotic diastasis”, “syndesmotic injury”, “syndesmotic screw”, “syndesmotic fixation”, and “tibiofibular syndesmosis”. The analysis was performed on individual patient data from all the studies that met the selection criteria. Clinical outcomes were expressed as standard mean differences for continuous outcomes with 95% confidence intervals. Heterogeneity was assessed using the Chi 2 test and the I 2 statistic. Results There were 2 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and 6 observational articles included in this analysis. In the comparison between retained and removed screws and the comparison between broken or loose and removed screws, no significant difference was found in terms of visual analogue scale (VAS), Olerud-Molander Ankle Score (OMAS) and American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) ankle/hindfoot score. Broken or loose screws were associated with better AOFAS scores compared with removed or intact screws, and no significant difference was found in terms of VAS and OMAS scores. Conclusions According to our analysis, there was no significant difference in clinical outcomes between removed and retained screws. Broken or loose screws were not associated with bad functional outcomes and may even lead to better function compared with removed or retained screws.


2003 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 623-648 ◽  
Author(s):  
LOUISE A. JACKSON

The term ‘policing’ is often used to refer to a broad range of regulatory practices, which have been associated with the development of educative and social work frameworks in the modern state. The relationship between the concepts of ‘welfare’ and ‘penality’ (or ‘care’ and ‘control’) has been the subject of a number of recent studies of social intervention in twentieth-century Britain. However, the role of police officers themselves in the ‘policing of families’ has rarely been elaborated. From their initial appointment to London's Metropolitan Police in 1919 until their official integration on the same terms as male officers in the early 1970s, women police officers played a significant role in the detection and prevention of child abuse, neglect, and female delinquency. Through a case study of the work of the Metropolitan Women Police branch, this article considers the negotiation of a social work ethic within policing as well as the shifting configuration of the ‘care’/‘control’ nexus in welfare legislation and professional practice. The Metropolitan Women Police tended to see ‘care’ and ‘control’ as mutually reinforcing rather than conflicting concepts. Such a formulation was resonant with the rhetoric of social work and official legislation until the early 1960s. It also reflected the philosophy of crime prevention laid down as the principal object of policing, enabling women to justify involvement in child protection and welfare as an aspect of police work.


Author(s):  
Lynda Ayiku ◽  
Sarah Glover

IntroductionLiterature searching for evidence on apps in bibliographic databases is challenging because they are often described with inconsistent terminology. Information Specialists from the United Kingdom's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) have developed validated search filters for retrieving evidence about apps from MEDLINE and Embase (Ovid) reliably.MethodsMedical informatics journals were hand-searched to create a ‘gold standard’ set of app references. The gold standard set was divided into two sets. The development set provided the search terms for the filters. The filters were validated by calculating their recall against the validation set. Target recall was >90%.A case study was then conducted to compare the number-needed-to-read (NNR) of the filters with previous non-validated MEDLINE and Embase app search strategies used for the ‘MIB214 myCOPD app’ NICE topic. NNR is the number of references screened to find each relevant reference.ResultsThe MEDLINE and Embase filters achieved 98.6 percent and 98.5 percent recall against the validation set, respectively. In the case study they achieved 100 percent recall, reducing NNR from 348 to 147 in MEDLINE and from 456 to 271 in Embase.ConclusionsThe novel NICE health apps search filters retrieve evidence on apps from MEDLINE and Embase effectively and more efficiently than previous non-validated search strategies used at NICE.


Author(s):  
Marco Farronato ◽  
Elisa Boccalari ◽  
Ettore Del Rosso ◽  
Valentina Lanteri ◽  
Riaan Mulder ◽  
...  

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus was discovered in China in late 2019 and subsequently triggered a global pandemic. Dentists, like many other health professionals, are at an increased risk of contracting the virus as they work in close proximity to patients, especially when performing aerosol-generating procedures. Thus, in order for dentists to protect themselves and their patients, it is recommended that practitioners wear filtering facepiece 2 (FFP2) respirators. The prolonged use of these FFP2 respirators has been linked to several side effects. The aim of this paper is to assess the perceived experience associated with N95/FFP2 respirators based on the available literature and data collected through an online survey completed by Italian dental professionals. Articles were included up to May 2020 and literature searches were conducted through The National Library of Medicine, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Embase databases. The search terms included COVID-19, respirators, masks, and discomfort. An online survey was administered to 256 Italian dentists. The results from this survey were in agreement with the available literature. The findings concurred that the prolonged use of respirators was associated with headaches (47.5%), severe exertion and discomfort (50.8%), moderate concentration problems (54.3%), moderate breathing difficulties (63.5%), and consequently, an impaired work ability (85.5%). These findings were not influenced by the number of hours spent wearing the respirator. Despite several side effects, FFP2 respirators are fundamental in protecting dentists and their importance was acknowledged.


Author(s):  
Matthew Gibson

This chapter reviews and summarises the theory proposed throughout this book. It considers this theory within the context of the case-study site used as an example throughout. While all child and family social work organisations will interpret the wider systemic pressures individually and have their own regional needs and local idiosyncrasies, the case example provides an illustration of how pride and shame can be used in political attempts to shape, direct and control public services. In addition, it also demonstrates the complexity of the decision-making process, where experiences, or the anticipation, of pride, shame and other self-conscious emotions drive practitioners to comply with, or resist, such pressures. These processes are not reserved specifically for child and family social work, however. Indeed, the whole welfare state and governmental apparatus has been going through a transformation as neoliberal ideas, agendas and values have become embedded into political, media and public discourse. These ideas, therefore, relate to other disciplines and practices. This chapter sketches out the conditions needed for authenticity and pride in social work practice before concluding with possible future directions in the theory and practice of pride and shame in professional practice


Author(s):  
Kate Parkinson

This chapter assesses family group conferences (FGCs) as an international model of decision-making. FGCs are used in at least 20 countries across the globe. They are internationally recognised as an effective way of engaging families in decision-making processes. As the model has been applied in other countries, it has been adapted to reflect the cultures and the historical and policy context of individual countries and jurisdictions. Some of the processes are very similar to the original New Zealand model while others are very different and are hybrids of the original model. The chapter then studies the different levels of service implementation of FGCs and considers some of the outcome studies from seven countries. It also focuses on China as a case study for a country attempting to introduce FGCs as a culturally appropriate method of child protection practice.


2021 ◽  
pp. 152483802110294
Author(s):  
Ravit Alfandari ◽  
Brian J. Taylor

The aim of this systematic narrative literature review is to explore empirical evidence as to how a multiprofessional approach to child protection decision making is implemented in hospitals settings. Child protection cases where there is a suspicious serious injury suspected sexual abuse or serious neglect are often investigated in hospital, involving a number of relevant professions. Five electronic bibliographic databases were used for the search. To be included in the review studies had to be published in a peer-reviewed journal, report on empirical research, be available full text in English, and have used an identifiable research design. The search was restricted to 10 years, from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2019, and retrieved 6,934 studies. The review includes 26 studies undertaken in 10 countries. In all the hospital-based settings studied, child protection decision-making tasks were assigned to a designated multiprofessional team. However, there was remarkable diversity in models of team structure, regulation of workflow, structured procedures, and standardized tools through which practice was carried out. Research focused on evaluating the teams’ effectiveness in fulfilling their duties which were, first and foremost, the identification of possible child maltreatment. The analysis identifies various systemic approaches and quality improvement methods to promote effective team-based decision-making processes in hospitals. The interactional aspect of collaborative team-based practice was generally missing from the published research. This article discusses next steps for the development of practice, policy, and research to enhance useful multiprofessional child protection team working in hospitals.


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