Assessment of search strategies in Medline to identify studies on the impact of long COVID on workability
ObjectivesStudies on the impact of long COVID on work capacity are increasing but are difficult to locate in bibliographic databases, due to the heterogeneity of the terms used to describe this new condition and its consequences. This study aims to report on the effectiveness of different search str...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Research Metrics and Analytics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frma.2024.1300533/full |
| _version_ | 1797289711665938432 |
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| author | Jean-François Gehanno Jean-François Gehanno Isabelle Thaon Carole Pelissier Carole Pelissier Laetitia Rollin Laetitia Rollin |
| author_facet | Jean-François Gehanno Jean-François Gehanno Isabelle Thaon Carole Pelissier Carole Pelissier Laetitia Rollin Laetitia Rollin |
| author_sort | Jean-François Gehanno |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ObjectivesStudies on the impact of long COVID on work capacity are increasing but are difficult to locate in bibliographic databases, due to the heterogeneity of the terms used to describe this new condition and its consequences. This study aims to report on the effectiveness of different search strategies to find studies on the impact of long COVID on work participation in PubMed and to create validated search strings.MethodsWe searched PubMed for articles published on Long COVID and including information about work. Relevant articles were identified and their reference lists were screened. Occupational health journals were manually scanned to identify articles that could have been missed. A total of 885 articles potentially relevant were collected and 120 were finally included in a gold standard database. Recall, Precision, and Number Needed to Read (NNR) of various keywords or combinations of keywords were assessed.ResultsOverall, 123 search-words alone or in combination were tested. The highest Recalls with a single MeSH term or textword were 23 and 90%, respectively. Two different search strings were developed, one optimizing Recall while keeping Precision acceptable (Recall 98.3%, Precision 15.9%, NNR 6.3) and one optimizing Precision while keeping Recall acceptable (Recall 90.8%, Precision 26.1%, NNR 3.8).ConclusionsNo single MeSH term allows to find all relevant studies on the impact of long COVID on work ability in PubMed. The use of various MeSH and non-MeSH terms in combination is required to recover such studies without being overwhelmed by irrelevant articles. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T19:09:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-011782b8ab1b48ec95db7b1496f8157a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2504-0537 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T19:09:56Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Research Metrics and Analytics |
| spelling | doaj.art-011782b8ab1b48ec95db7b1496f8157a2024-03-01T04:57:59ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Research Metrics and Analytics2504-05372024-03-01910.3389/frma.2024.13005331300533Assessment of search strategies in Medline to identify studies on the impact of long COVID on workabilityJean-François Gehanno0Jean-François Gehanno1Isabelle Thaon2Carole Pelissier3Carole Pelissier4Laetitia Rollin5Laetitia Rollin6Institute of Occupational Medicine, Rouen University Hospital, Rouen, FranceInserm, Rouen University, Sorbonne University, University of Paris 13, Laboratory of Medical Informatics and Knowledge Engineering in e-Health, LIMICS, Paris, FranceCentre de Consultations de Pathologie Professionnelle, CHRU de Nancy, Vandoeuvre les Nancy, Nancy, FranceCentre Hospitalier Universitaire de Saint-Etienne, Université Lyon 1, Université de St Etienne, Université Gustave Eiffel-IFSTTAR, Saint-Etienne, FranceUMRESTTE UMR-T9405, Saint-Etienne, FranceInstitute of Occupational Medicine, Rouen University Hospital, Rouen, FranceInserm, Rouen University, Sorbonne University, University of Paris 13, Laboratory of Medical Informatics and Knowledge Engineering in e-Health, LIMICS, Paris, FranceObjectivesStudies on the impact of long COVID on work capacity are increasing but are difficult to locate in bibliographic databases, due to the heterogeneity of the terms used to describe this new condition and its consequences. This study aims to report on the effectiveness of different search strategies to find studies on the impact of long COVID on work participation in PubMed and to create validated search strings.MethodsWe searched PubMed for articles published on Long COVID and including information about work. Relevant articles were identified and their reference lists were screened. Occupational health journals were manually scanned to identify articles that could have been missed. A total of 885 articles potentially relevant were collected and 120 were finally included in a gold standard database. Recall, Precision, and Number Needed to Read (NNR) of various keywords or combinations of keywords were assessed.ResultsOverall, 123 search-words alone or in combination were tested. The highest Recalls with a single MeSH term or textword were 23 and 90%, respectively. Two different search strings were developed, one optimizing Recall while keeping Precision acceptable (Recall 98.3%, Precision 15.9%, NNR 6.3) and one optimizing Precision while keeping Recall acceptable (Recall 90.8%, Precision 26.1%, NNR 3.8).ConclusionsNo single MeSH term allows to find all relevant studies on the impact of long COVID on work ability in PubMed. The use of various MeSH and non-MeSH terms in combination is required to recover such studies without being overwhelmed by irrelevant articles.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frma.2024.1300533/fulllong COVIDworkMEDLINEbibliometricsinformation retrieval methods |
| spellingShingle | Jean-François Gehanno Jean-François Gehanno Isabelle Thaon Carole Pelissier Carole Pelissier Laetitia Rollin Laetitia Rollin Assessment of search strategies in Medline to identify studies on the impact of long COVID on workability Frontiers in Research Metrics and Analytics long COVID work MEDLINE bibliometrics information retrieval methods |
| title | Assessment of search strategies in Medline to identify studies on the impact of long COVID on workability |
| title_full | Assessment of search strategies in Medline to identify studies on the impact of long COVID on workability |
| title_fullStr | Assessment of search strategies in Medline to identify studies on the impact of long COVID on workability |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessment of search strategies in Medline to identify studies on the impact of long COVID on workability |
| title_short | Assessment of search strategies in Medline to identify studies on the impact of long COVID on workability |
| title_sort | assessment of search strategies in medline to identify studies on the impact of long covid on workability |
| topic | long COVID work MEDLINE bibliometrics information retrieval methods |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frma.2024.1300533/full |
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