Bridging the Digital Divide: The Role of Librarians in Global and Disaster Health

Bridging the digital divide: the role of
librarians in global and disaster health
Dr Anne Brice
Head of Knowledge Management
Public Health England
Convenor, IFLA E4GDH Special Interest Group

Bridging the digital divide: the
role of librarians in global and
disaster health

“We live in a world where disease and disaster know no borders. An
interconnected world, where every nation's health and security is dependent on
that of other countries worldwide. Work to protect and improve the public’s
health, and to reduce inequalities, must be global too.”
Duncan Selbie, CE, Public Health England
“When disaster occurs, there is often an appeal for money and money is often
needed but what is always needed is knowledge”.
Professor Sir Muir Gray

Calls to action …
“leadership will be essential for building knowledge and library service provision
and knowledge management to support global health, and disaster and emergency
preparedness. ..
…. Without this vital expertise and associated resources we would not be able to
adequately collaborate and implement the three 2015 UN Landmark
Agreements on disaster risk reduction, Sustainable Development Goals and the
Climate Change Agreement”
Professor Virginia Murray
Consultant in Global Disaster Risk Reduction, PHE
Member: Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR) scientific committee
Co-Chair: IRDR Disaster Data Loss Project (DATA) project
Member: UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network DATA
Member: WHO Collaborating Centre on Mass Gatherings and Global Health Security
Visiting Professor UNU-International Institute of Global Health
IFLA Special Meeting 21/08/17 Call to action

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-
2030
In 2015 the United Nations adopted three
landmark agreements:
• Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk
Reduction 2015–2030
• The Sustainable Development Goals of
Agenda 2030
• The Paris Agreement on Climate Change
TheSendaiFrameworkwill“strengthen technical
and scientific capacity to capitalize on and
consolidate existing knowledge and to develop
and apply methodologies and models to
assess disaster risks, vulnerabilities and
exposure to all hazards; (paragraph 24 j)
S

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-
2030
“strengthen the evidence base in
support of … implementation”
“to promote and support the
availability and application of science
and technology to decision-making; to
use post-disaster reviews as
opportunities to enhance learning and
public policy; and to disseminate
studies”
“the scientific and technical work on
disaster risk reduction and its
mobilization through the coordination
of existing networks and scientific
research institutions at all levels and in
all regions”
S

Natural hazards
Technological hazards

Natural hazards
Disease

Natural hazards
Disease
Environmental hazards

Natural hazards
Disease
Climatic hazards

Natural hazards
Disease
Climatic hazards
Humanitarian hazards

Natural hazards
Disease
Climatic hazards
Geopolitical and post conflict hazards

Natural hazards
Disease
Climatic hazards
Violence and terrorism hazards

Natural hazards
Disease
Climatic hazards
Externality, space weather and meteors

Natural hazards
Disease
Climatic hazards
Trade Dispute hazards

Natural hazards
Disease
Climatic hazards
Financial Shock hazards

Natural hazards
Disease
Climatic hazards
Cyber hazards

Natural hazards
Disease
Climatic hazards
Cyber hazards
Transport accident hazards

Natural hazards
Disease
Climatic hazards
Cyber hazards
Transport accident hazards
…. other hazards?

Advocacy: Global action to build the potential for librarians to play an enhanced,
pivotal role in the production, organisation, assessment and deployment of
information for global and disaster health, including disaster preparedness and risk
reduction.
Training and Mentoring: Using face-to-face meetings & virtual learning interventions
to help librarians gain the skills, capabilities, and confidence to respond to new and
emerging roles in DRR and global health, and make sure that opportunities are
targeted at areas of most need
Activity mapping and resource production. Producing high-quality
resources and aligning with existing initiatives to promote evidence-based
practice, provide better value, and reduce duplication.

Community based, but globally connected.
Focus on principles and values aimed at inclusion and diversity – belief in the right to
reliable healthcare information for all
Evidence-based and measuring value and impact– work in every sector and sphere
Ethical profession values based on IFLA Global Vision, and robust standards and
processes
User focused, working with key partners including library and non-library
stakeholders, organisations and networks to share knowledge and
expertise

Evidence Briefing
• Digital divide with regards to access to content, and infrastructure
• Access to timely, accurate, and quality health information and data
for disaster teams is essential.
• New roles include Knowledge Brokers, Global Health Informationist
or Disaster Information Specialists.
• Libraries, in particular public libraries, can be used as a charging
station, Internet connection point, warming centre, meeting point,
communication channel, pre-departure training providers
• Knowledge management tools are available to support global
health but not often to all
• Social media can be used effectively but has dangers in
misinformation
• Awareness of local context is vital

Healthcare Information for All: discussion
• Digital divide is not just during times of crisis
• Terminology and language is a potential barrier
• All countries need to cascade readiness plans and processes to
rural, lay, media and professional stakeholders, well before
epidemics strike
• Huge gap between what is needed and what is available - no one
player has the capacity to deliver to their full potential
• We should increase our people-to people mutual exchange and
understanding, even if we have completely different systems
• The power of prevention
• Knowledge is the enemy of disease

Roles and Skills?
Roles
• Expert searchers
• Systemic reviewers
• Knowledge managers
• Knowledge brokers
• Research needs and gaps
• Marketers and publicists
• Health and digital literacy
• Policy and strategy leads
Skills
• Information science
• Scholarly publication, OS and OA
• Evidence based practice
• Research Methods/Ethics
• Communication and writing skills
• Teaching and learning
• Negotiation skills
All of the above!

What do our users say?
o Librarians provide wise advice of how to collate resources to build evidence for DRR
o Librarians identify relevant information sources to answer focused DRR questions
o Librarians are aware of how to manage and appraise the evidence retrieved, so that
it can be applied in practice.
o Make the work I do safer by ensuring that as much as possible is evidence informed
o Librarians are key to ensure quality and confidence in completeness
o Librarians help ensure that the searching for systematic reviews is comprehensive
o Librarians ensure complete searches and facilitate the building of evidence to inform
practice for DRR
o Librarians suggest ways of looking for relevant material that I would not have
thought of
o Librarians help me understand why bibliographic databases such as PubMed do
things that confuse or surprise me

E4GDH and the Knowledge Cycle
Questions
Production
Organising
Mobilising
Translating and using
Evaluation and
monitoring Knowledge from
research
Knowledge from
data
Knowledge from
experience
IFLA Special Meeting 21/08/17 Call to action C

What do we need to do?
• Understand the concepts of AI and machine learning
• Develop better evaluation methodologies that take account of needs
• Sponsor, develop and share community-based assets
• Effective evidence-base for our own work, all three types
• Cross-disciplinary collaboration and co-operation
• Capacity and capability, so training and skills
• Promote sustainability and equity – librarians are trusted assets
• Advocate

“To be an information professional or a librarian is to
be someone who believes they can change the world
for the better through knowledge.”
Professor R.D.Lankes, CILIP Conference keynote, 2015

Thank you
• anne.brice@phe.gov.uk
• https://www.ifla.org/e4gdh

Bridging the Digital Divide: The Role of Librarians in Global and Disaster Health

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