A poster by Judith Smith, Carol Shannon, Christopher Clarke, and Ebbin Dotson for the 2017 Annual Meeting of the Medical Library Association.

1. Information Skills Training for
Health Equity Leadership Pipeline Collaborative
.
The Collaborative
The Taubman Health Sciences Library (THL) at the University of Michigan has a long history of active engagement
with the School of Public Health. Informationists are assigned to each of the six departments of the school and also participate
in school and department programs and initiatives.
The Health Equity Leadership Pipeline Collaborative (LPC) is part of the University of Michigan School of Public
Health (SPH), the Department of Health Management and Policy (HMP) and Griffith Leadership Center. Its mission is to
provide innovative, relevant, and scholarly research on health professions and health education training methods to increase
the impact of healthcare leadership on addressing health equity issues on:
• Increasing the leadership diversity of the health care field,
• Community health care capacity building, and
• Designing effective educational components/competencies for health care organizations
Levels of Implementation and Learning Objectives
Abstract
Objective
Student research assistants often look for advanced information-seeking skills to prepare for research. Informationists at the
University of Michigan,Taubman Health Sciences Library (THL), partnered with its School of Public Health’s "Health Equity
Leadership Pipeline Collaborative" (The Collaborative) to create an information training program to prepare student
researchers for roles in health equity and eliminating health disparities within healthcare administration.
Methods
In partnership with the Collaborative,THL informationists used a survey approach to curricular design to inform the process
of information skills curricular development and implementation as part of the Collaborative’s overall evidence-based
curriculum. Based on the Collaborative’s mission of providing “innovative, relevant, and scholarly research on health
professions and health education training methods to increase the impact of healthcare leadership on addressing health
equity,”THL informationists began planning a sustainable information-seeking and management training series for recently
hired student research assistants.The informationists assessed student information skill levels and worked with the program
director to develop training levels and implementation model, and together created a sustainable, information-seeking and
management training structure. Informationists created the information skills training, consisting of live demonstrations,
discussion, and hands-on exploration.The program aims were to create a set of training practices that included: 1)
interdisciplinary resource awareness, 2) searching subject-focused databases and grey literature, and 3) use of citation
management tools.
Results
The multi-part, scaffolded instructional program for research students incorporates a health equity perspective, and the four
competencies were based on ACRL’s Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education and Framework for
Information Literacy for Higher Education: Information Management and Ethical Use, Searching and Documentation,
Evaluating Information, and ScholarlyWriting and Publishing. For each component, there are three mastery levels with specific
learning objectives, which provide demonstrable skills for evaluation. It is designed with enough flexibility to allow students
to begin with any component if needed. The levels of implementation, each with specific learning objectives, provide a clear
pathway for instruction and assessment. Based on a preliminary assessment, students have an increased confidence in their
skills in four learning objectives.
Conclusion
The partnership betweenTHL andThe Collaborative has been a fruitful experience. In one semester, student information
literacy increased, and the competency scaffolding has led to better writing and publication.The project has since
seeded other research, funding, and publication opportunities betweenTHL and the Collaborative.
Information Skills Framework
Information Management and Ethical Use
• Consistently and appropriately utilize citation management tool RefWorks to manage citations.
• Use information ethically through proper citation methodology.
Searching and Documentation
Understand and use the appropriate techniques to:
• Access the wide range of peer-reviewed resources available for researching health equity and leadership issues.
• Utilize grey literature information-seeking resources and techniques.
• Understand when structured search techniques are needed and when a cherry picking would suffice.
• Document the search process and be systematic in approach for publication and continuity of LPC projects.
Evaluating Information
• Select resources appropriate to information need at hand.
• Understand how to evaluate peer-reviewed lit.
• Evaluate grey literature using criteria such as such as authorship, source, transparency, currency.
ScholarlyWriting and Publishing
• Understand how to read a scholarly article.
• Understand types of literature reviews available for scholarly articles.
• Use information ethically through proper citation methodology.
• Understand ways to determine where and how to publish.
• Understand the use of grant seeking resources.
Judith Smith, MSLIS*; Carol Shannon, MA, MPH*; Christopher Clarke, MPA**; Ebbin Dotson, PhD, MHSA**
*Taubman Health Sciences Library, University of Michigan
**School of Public Health, University of Michigan
Ebbin Dotson, assistant professor of health management and policy, and Christopher Clarke, program director, manage the
LPC. Their student research assistants collect and analyze data, coordinate program and student activities, and participate in
specific LPC projects, from the preparation of manuscripts through the dissemination of key study findings.THL
informationists have developed an information skills curriculum to meet the needs of these students.