This review recommends the use of both verbal and written health information when communicating about care issues with patients and/or significant others on discharge from hospital to home. The combination of verbal and written health information enables the provision of standardised care information to patients and/or significant others, which appears to improve knowledge and satisfaction. Many of our objectives could not be addressed in this review due to lack of trials which met the review's inclusion criteria. There is therefore scope for future research to investigate the effects of providing verbal and written health information on readmission rates, recovery time, complication rates, costs of health care, consumers' confidence level, stress and anxiety and adherence to recommended treatment and staff training in the delivery of verbal and written information. In addition there are other factors which impact on the effectiveness of information provided that were not considered in this review but are worthy of a separate systematic review, such as the impact of the patient and/or significant others being involved in the development of the written information, and cultural issues around development and provision of information. Due to concerns about literacy levels for some population groups, other systematic reviews should also focus on other modes of delivery of information besides the written format.

BackgroundThe potential for digital initiatives for opioid harm reduction is boundless. Synthesized evidence on current interventions and their efficacy are emerging. This scoping review is an effort to aggregate Canadian and Australian digital health initiatives used to prevent opioid-related deaths and minimize harm, prior to and particularly during the pandemic of SARs-COVID-19, when the crisis escalated.MethodsThe Joanna Briggs Institute's methodological framework for conducting scoping reviews was used. Peer reviewed and gray literature published between January 2016 to October 2021 were included. Search translation was performed across CINAHL, Cochrane, SCOPUS, MEDLINE Complete, and ProQuest Public Health with consistent use of key search terms. Citation checks were also conducted. Studies included were written in English and reported on digital technologies to prevent opioid-related harm and/or mortality in participants aged 18 years or older in Australia and Canada.ResultsA total of 16 publications were included in the final analysis (Australia = 5; Canada = 11). The most frequently reported digital technologies were telehealth to support access to treatment (n = 3) and mobile applications for overdose monitoring and prevention (n = 3). Telehealth-delivered opioid replacement therapy demonstrated equal outcomes and treatment retention rates compared to in-person and mobile applications for overdose monitoring demonstrated lifesaving capability through direct linkages with emergency response services.ConclusionsDigital interventions to minimize opioid crisis related harm and overdose prevention are fast emerging in Australia and Canada. During the pandemic, the crisis escalated in both countries as a public health emergency, and different initiatives were trialed. Digital harm reduction solutions via mobile apps (or SaaS solutions) were found to have the potential to prevent accidental overdose deaths and save lives, if rendered through privacy preserved, secure and trust enabled methods that empower users. Knowledge sharing between the two countries, relating to suitable interventions, may add significant value in combatting the escalating opioid crisis in the post pandemic era.

Objective: The extent to which existing and future research can impact on reducing health disparities relates not only to the evidence available, but the ability to find that evidence. Our objective is to quantify experts' literature searching effectiveness with respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's health. Methods: Nine journals were dual reviewed, and a 'gold standard' set of relevant articles was identified. Health librarians (n = 25) completed a standardised searching task using OVID MEDLINE, and results were compared with the gold standard. Sensitivity, specificity and precision rates were calculated. Results: The gold standard comprised 136 of 1469 (9.3%) records from nine journals. Searches achieved a mean sensitivity of 53.2% (median = 64.7%, range 0.0-93.4%), specificity of 97.4% (median = 99.4%, range 52.6-100%) and precision of 83.3% (median = 91.0%, range 16.7-100%). Self-estimates of search sensitivity (post hoc) were significantly higher than observed (M = 78.9%, t = 4.812, P < 0.001). Conclusions: Even expert searchers struggle to find the relevant peer-reviewed literature in MEDLINE. Implications: A search filter may improve searching effectiveness for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health literature. Assessment of health librarians' searching competencies warrants further professional debate and consideration.Keywords: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, Australia, information storage and retrieval, MEDLINE, oceanic ancestry group, professional competence Key Messages• Health library and information professionals should develop strategies to assess and develop their individual MEDLINE searching competencies, as confidence is not necessarily associated with competence.• Continuing professional development programmes for health library and information. Professionals should target MEDLINE searching skills, given MEDLINE is a primary database of significance.• Academic and researchers should invest in developing and validating objective measures of assessing searching competencies.

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