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Purpose – The purpose of this article is to investigate one core research question: How can health information technology (HIT) be assessed in a national health care system context?

Design/methodology – We examine this question by taking a systematic approach within a national care system, in which the purpose of HIT is to contribute to a common national health care system's goal: to promote population health in an efficient way. Based on this approach we first develop a framework and our criteria of assessment, and then using Taiwan as a case study, demonstrate how one can apply this framework to assess a national system's HIT. The five criteria we developed are how well does the HIT (1) provide accessible and accurate public health and health care information to the population; (2) collect and provide population health and health care data for government and researchers to analyze population health and processes and outcomes of health care services; (3) provide accessible and timely information that helps to improve provision of cost-effective health care at an institutional level and promotes system-wide efficiency; (4) minimize transaction and administrative costs of the health care system; and (5) establish channels for population participation in governance while also protecting individual privacy.

Findings – The results indicate that Taiwan has high levels of achievement in two criteria while falling short in the other three. Major lessons we learned from this study are that HIT exists to serve a health care system, and the national health care system context dictates how one assesses its HIT.

Originality/value – There is a large body of literature published on the implementation of HIT and its impact on the quality and cost of health care delivery. The vast majority of the literature, however, is focused on a micro institutional level such as a hospital or a bit higher up, on an HMO or health insurance firm. Few have gone further to evaluate the implementation of HIT and its impact on a national health care system. The lack of such research motivated this study. The major contributions of this study are (i) to develop a framework that follows systems thinking principles and (ii) propose a process through which a nation can identify its objectives for HIT and systematically assess its national HIT system. Using Taiwan's national health care system as a case study, this paper demonstrated how it can be done.

The purpose of this paper is to re‐frame perceptions surrounding junior doctors' capacity to contribute to patient safety and quality improvement.

A targeted literature review was conducted followed by individual telephone interviews and a half‐day forum involving junior doctor representatives and selected leaders in the sector.

Junior doctors' entry into health care is an ideal time to cultivate practitioners' interest and expertise in improving the health system for better patient care. Junior doctors are more likely to bring or embrace new ideas, and recognize the importance of transparency and integration of technology into healthcare systems. Engaging with junior doctors in collaborative processes, rather than focusing on their more senior colleagues, may create a more effective culture.

The attributes of junior doctors (as they are in the absence of specific quality improvement or leadership training) that are currently underutilized in patient safety and quality improvement are explored, along with the factors limiting and facilitating the utilization of these attributes.

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether there is a need to consider gender or sex differences as variables in information behaviour research and, if so, how?

A metasynthesis approach is used. A preliminary framework to categorise information behaviour research on women is developed by integrating main themes from feminist research and information behaviour research. Within each category, studies are compared and contrasted, to identify similar and divergent themes. Themes are then compared across categories, to synthesise the main concepts.

The categorisation works for most studies, apart from a group of studies on health information use, communicating risk and decision making. The meta‐synthesis indicates the importance of concepts such as situation (as mesh), intermediaries (as node with connections), and connecting behaviour. Gender‐related or, rather gender‐ascribed, constructs, such as concern for others, not gender alone are likely to be important variables in information behaviour.

The meta‐synthesis is a top‐level synthesis, as the number of studies prohibited a more detailed approach. Further meta‐synthesis of a few high quality research studies would help to confirm the findings.

The synthesis illuminates a different perspective on information behaviour: the network of information users rather than the individual information seeker.

The synthesis integrates some feminist research themes with information behaviour research, and the findings have implications for general information behaviour research.

Meta-synthesis of the research evidence adds value to the process of literature reviewing, providing useful knowledge for researchers, practitioners and policymakers. The aim of the chapter is to explain what meta-synthesis involves and how it illuminates our understanding of concepts. Previous papers on meta-synthesis (by the author) have reviewed research strategies in information behaviour research and methods for meta-synthesis, discussed application of meta-synthesis to research on information behaviour of women, and proposed methods suitable for integrating information literacy research. Meta-synthesis methods have been applied to many areas of social science research. The literature review examines how to reduce the risks involved in suitable for integrating qualitative research or qualitative and quantitative research; outlines the main approaches used in meta-synthesis before explaining the processes used in a meta-synthesis of research on information behaviour of women, reflects on the meta-synthesis methods used, and which might have been used, and shows what meta-synthesis achieves. Meta-synthesis should be used more in information behaviour research, but it is a rigorous process, requiring time and effort to get useful results. On the other hand, meta-synthesis provides more new knowledge, and a deeper understanding of our ideas, than a conventional literature review.

This study aims to explore the information-seeking behavior of female patients engaged in doctor shopping. An investigation was conducted on the following aspects: the reasons for doctor-shopping behavior (DSB), patients’ information needs and sources, patients’ use of the obtained information and the degree of satisfaction with the information collected.

In-depth interviews were conducted in this study. In total, 30 female participants who lived or worked in the Taipei metropolitan area, Taiwan, were recruited.

Dissatisfaction with treatment, confirmation of illness conditions, inconvenient treatment locations and hours and dissatisfaction with doctor’s attitude were the main reasons for DSB. Family members, friends, the internet and mass media were sources of information for participants when they sought second and successive doctors. In most cases, the degree of satisfaction toward the obtained information increased after each visit to a doctor during the doctor-shopping journey. However, not all participants shared information with doctors. The participants suggested that detailed explanations provided by doctors and better communication with doctors may reduce the occurrence of doctor shopping.

The findings of this study help medical personnel better understand DSB. The findings revealed the significance of information to patients and indicated that the information collected during doctor shopping is beneficial for patients.

This paper aims to present recently published resources on information literacy and library instruction through an extensive annotated bibliography of publications covering all library types.

This paper annotates English-language periodical articles, monographs, dissertations and other materials on library instruction and information literacy published in 2017 in over 200 journals, magazines, books and other sources.

The paper provides a brief description for all 590 sources.

The information may be used by librarians and interested parties as a quick reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.

This paper aims to highlight recent resources on information literacy (IL) and library instruction, providing an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of publications covering all library types.

This paper introduces and annotates English-language periodical articles, monographs, dissertations and other materials on library instruction and IL published in 2015.

This paper provides information about each source, describes the characteristics of current scholarship and highlights sources that contain either unique or significant scholarly contributions.

The information may be used by librarians and interested parties as a quick reference to literature on library instruction and IL.

This paper aims to provide an introductory overview and selected annotated bibliography of recent resources on library instruction and information literacy across all library types.

It introduces and annotates English-language periodical articles, monographs, dissertations and other materials on library instruction and information literacy published in 2014.

It provides information about each source, discusses the characteristics of current scholarship and highlights sources that contain unique or significant scholarly contributions.

The information may be used by librarians and interested parties as a quick reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a selected bibliography of recent resources on library instruction and information literacy.

Introduces and annotates periodical articles, monographs, and audiovisual material examining library instruction and information literacy.

Provides information about each source, discusses the characteristics of current scholarship, and describes sources that contain unique scholarly contributions and quality reproductions.

The information may be used by librarians and interested parties as a quick reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.

Despite technological advancements to enhance patient health, the risks of not discovering the correct interactions and trends in digital health are high. Hence, a careful policy is required for health coverage tailored to needs and capacity. Therefore, this study aims to explore the adoption of a cognitive computing decision support system (CCDSS) in the assessment of health-care policymaking and validates it by extending the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model.

A survey was conducted to collect data from different stakeholders, referred to as the 4Ps, namely, patients, providers, payors and policymakers. Structural equation modelling and one-way ANOVA were used to analyse the data.

The result reveals that the behavioural insight of policymakers towards the assessment of health-care policymaking is based on automatic and reflective systems. Investments in CCDSS for policymaking assessment have the potential to produce rational outcomes. CCDSS, built with quality procedures, can validate whether breastfeeding-supporting policies are mother-friendly.

Health-care policies are used by lawmakers to safeguard and improve public health, but it has always been a challenge. With the adoption of CCDSS, the overall goal of health-care policymaking can achieve better quality standards and improve the design of policymaking.

This study drew attention to how CCDSS as a technology enabler can drive health-care policymaking assessment for each stage and how the technology enabler can help the 4Ps of health-care gain insight into the benefits and potential value of CCDSS by demonstrating the breastfeeding supporting policy.