Are You Familiar with HSR Information Central?
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HSR Information Central (HSRIC) Guest Contributor: Ginny Van Horne, Content Manager, HSR Information Central/contractor for NICHSR
Title: Are you familiar with HSR Information Central?
Summary: This blog post informs the reader about HSR Information Central, highlighting its comparative effectiveness research, quality and HSR funding resources.
Keywords/tags: health services research; comparative effectiveness research; quality; health services research grants.
As the content manager for HSR Information Central—that’s short for Health Services Research Information Central—I’m excited to tell you about two newly updated resources on HSR Information Central as well as our brand-new search engine.
Before I do that, let me quickly explain what HSR Information Central is: a health services research portal designed to serve the information needs of the health services research community. NLM’s National Information Center on Health Services Research and Health Care Technology (NICHSR) initiated this resource to meet the needs of those serving and working in the health services research community back in 2005. Over time, the site has evolved to feature the most current resources in health services research, focusing on key topics.
Health services research is unique for it is a multidisciplinary field of scientific investigation that studies how social factors, financing systems, organizational structures and processes, health technologies, and personal behaviors affect access to health care, the quality and cost of health care, and ultimately our health and well-being (Lohr KN, Steinwachs D. Health services research: an evolving definition of the field. Health Serv Res 2002;37(1):7-9.) In addition to being multidisciplinary, it is characterized by key players across many different types of organizations (academic, think tanks, government – both at federal and state level).
In this climate of immediacy, HSR Information Central strives to provide up-to-date information on the field. Topics and priorities change rapidly. We add, change and update the resources featured on the site constantly, keeping up with the changes in the field. In other words, it is always fresh.
Both general and subject-specific resources are featured on the website. While the site is not intended to be an index of all health services resources on the Web, it does offer a sample of available information in numerous areas—linking directly to the producers of such information. Items are selected for their quality, authority of authorship, uniqueness, and appropriateness.
Speaking of resources, check out our grants, funding and fellowships page < http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hsrinfo/grantsites.html> to find the latest HSR funding announcements. Or, look at our education and training page < http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hsrinfo/trainingsites.html> to access various opportunities.
Let me tell you about those newly-updated resources. Let’s look at the comparative effectiveness research (CER) main topic < http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hsrinfo/cer.html> as an example. Featuring a definition and specialized searches on published research in CER, this page contains links to CER data, tools, and statistics; CER grants opportunities; select CER publications and webcasts; CER key organizations/programs; CER legislation; and select CER conferences/meetings. As new resources in this topic emerge, they are added.
Our quality main topic < http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hsrinfo/quality.html> is relatively new and features links to a plethora of quality resources. Looking for data related to quality? Check out the site!
About that search engine… Visitors to HSR Information Central can now search the entire site by using the “Search HSRIC” search box at the top of the page. It is my sincere hope that you will find this new tool easy-to-use and informative. How about giving it a try? Type in the “CER” or some other HSR topic and see what happens.
I would love to hear your thoughts on HSR Information Central and our new search engine as well as additional topic areas you would like to see Let me know if you find the site easy to use and most importantly, if you are able to find what you are looking for. For example, did you visit the site with the intention of finding something but couldn’t? Your feedback will help guide me as we tailor the resources to our visitors. You can reach me directly at vanhornevv@mail.nih.gov I look forward to your feedback. Remember: All feedback is valuable.
September 9, 2011
Tags: CER, comparative effectiveness research, guest posting, health services research, health services research grants, HSR, NICHSR, quality Posted in: Guest Contributors, NICHSR