Demonstrating the value and impact

of literature searches conducted for

Public Health England (PHE):

collecting Impact Stories

Nicola Pearce-Smith

Senior Information Scientist

Steph,

Guide

leader &

fireman?

Nicola,

Hollywood

actress?

Real world

librarianship

It’s not rocket science!

It’s real world

librarianship!

2nd November 20182 2nd November 2018

Our Knowledge and

Evidence Services team

3 2nd November 2018

We completed 250

searches last year....but what

did people

do with the

results?We don’t

know!!

Why am I in

this hedge?

In the beginning……

4 2nd November 2018

Water-cooler moment

“Stories are used to provide insights into programme

processes, to show impact, to demonstrate innovation

and to support numerical data”

Stories. Better Evaluation. https://www.betterevaluation.org/evaluation-options/stories

“Whoever you’re writing for, case studies are a really

good way to present impact”

How to tell your Impact Story. London School of Economics (LSE). https://info.lse.ac.uk/staff/services/knowledge-exchange-

and-impact/Assets/Documents/PDF/Toolkit/7-How-to-Tell-Your-Impact-Story.pdf

“Case studies. They sound dull, don’t they?.... But here’s a

secret: case studies are really just stories, and if you use

them well, they are your key to raising [your] profile ….”

What’s your story? A guide to finding and using case studies. April 21st, 2017. Liz Bell, Birmingham Voluntary Service Council

(BVSC). https://bvscupdate.org/2017/04/21/whats-your-story-a-guide-to-finding-and-using-case-studies/

5 2nd November 2018

Impact StoriesA one page A4 template

was designed for use in

writing up a case study.

The template was

adapted from a case

study template used at

a CILIP workshop*.

We called our case

studies Impact

Stories.

6 2nd November 2018

7 2nd November 2018

We began by targeting

users that had already given

us feedback or indicated

that our search results had

had an effect on some

aspect of their work

8 2nd November 2018

We also used our

literature search statistics

to identify searches

completed >3 months ago.

9 2nd November 2018

Title: A statement outlining the key elements of the problem and

how the literature search affected the impact/outcome

User testimonial: How was the outcome of the search useful,

in your [the user’s] words?

Challenge: Be honest and factual about the challenge

Solution: What was interesting or innovative about the

solution? Was this something different from what other

organisations were doing?

Impact: What were the outcomes? How was this beneficial

to PHE; to other orgs; to the wider public? Can the

benefits be quantified? Did time saving translate into

cost saving?

Success factors: What helped the project to work? Is this

helpful for others to replicate? Share your learning.

Lessons: Will you take any actions or learning away from

this work?

10 2nd November 2018

15 Impact Stories have been completed since Oct 2017

11 2nd November 2018

Senior management team

12 2nd November 2018

So what can you tell us now about the

impact of our literature searches?

13 2nd November 2018

- a scientific risk assessment on folic acid

was updated rapidly

- evidence about child sexual abuse was used to inform the production of a

DoH report

- a systematic review on non-commercial assays for

TB drug susceptibility testing was published

- a search for CVD programmes led to

publication of a review of successfully implemented international programmes.

a guidance document on secondary exposure to new psychoactive substances in

a prison setting was produced, the first

document to address this

a rapid evidence assessment on modern

slavery and public health lead to an impactful

publication on an issue of contemporary urgency

Provided essential support for production of important

research publications

14 2nd November 2018

an interactive return on an investment tool was

produced, showing the health and financial

benefits of moving from unemployment to

employment

evidence about child sexual exploitation, violence and

trafficking was used to support ongoing work for local area prevention tools

a series of Employer toolkits with guidance on how best to improve the health and wellbeing of employees have been

developed

Contributed to the development of new

tools

15 2nd November 2018

solutions identified in peer challenge supported the

development of a Region to Region Peer Challenge

Process

regular updates of the evidence on the NHS Health Check programme allowed quality-assured decision-

making by an expert Advisory Panel

Contributed to quality assurance

mechanisms

16 2nd November 2018

a dearth of evidence relating to the effects of

secondary exposure to new psychoactive substances

was revealed

limited evidence around the impact of spending cuts on

public health outcomes was demonstrated

a gap in the evidence base for street begging was

highlighted in a review on rough sleeping and street

beggars

Identified gaps in research evidence

a business case was accepted by a CCG after evidence showed that active case finding using mobile chest x ray machine screening programmes for TB were cost effective for drug users and the homeless

Supported funding

applications

strategies and prevention plans to tackle rough sleeping and street begging in a more holistic way were developed by local authorities

Assisted in development of prevention

plans

17 2nd November 2018

successful mobile chest x ray tuberculosis screening event initiated in Bristol after active case-finding shown to be effective

Demonstrated the

effectiveness of

interventions evidence provided the framework for discussing the impact of spending cuts on public health outcomes for a CPD session for local authority stakeholders

Supported Continuing

Professional Development

18 2nd November 2018

19 2nd November 2018

“Your findings were the

basis for our business case

so without your help we

would have really struggled

to obtain the funding we

needed”

Health Protection Practitioner,

PHE South West

20 2nd November 2018

“It was clear [after sharing

our findings] that PHE is

ahead in not only

producing guidance but

also by having such a

valuable resource as the

Knowledge and Library

Services”

Criminal Justice

Programme Manager

Available on website https://phelibrary.koha-ptfs.co.uk/stories/

Screen pic

21 2nd November 2018

22 2nd November 2018

What have we learnt? Time is always against us!

People are keen to do an Impact Story, but you have to

keep reminding them!

Contacting users who have already provided some

feedback on a search has proved effective

People change roles or leave so you can’t always get an

Impact Story for a search conducted some time ago

Completing some of the template in advance for the

user speeds up the process

Having the Impact Stories available on our library

website means we can market Impact Stories to our

users as a way of showcasing their research

23 2nd November 2018

24 2nd November 2018

New study reveals drinking tea boosts creativity and

brainpower!Drinking tea improves the performance of divergent creativity.

Food Quality and Preference Volume 66, June 2018, Pages 29-35https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0950329317303051