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All-Ireland electronic Health Library

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Background
The All-Ireland electronic Health Library (AIeHL) is a network of interoperable websites across the island of Ireland. Each member site contains a range of knowledge resources (from the so-called “grey” literature) that are related to health and wellbeing.

Various resources such as policy and strategy documents, quantitative and qualitative data, research reports, details of programmes and interventions, contacts and websites are included.

The AIeHL makes it possible to search all its resources from any of its member websites. On entering a member website you have the option of searching that website alone or choosing to expand your search to include any or all of the other member sites. 

You can search for keywords or refine your search for resources that contain particular Public Health Language (PHL) terms. By defining your needs in such terms, you can more easily retrieve just those resources you need.

The metadata standards for Ireland and Northern Ireland’s Population Health Observatory (INIsPHO) were adopted for use in the AIeHL. These incorporate the PHL, the public health thesaurus that has been mapped to the Systematised Nomenclature of Medicine (SNOMED), and the Public Health Resource Type Encoding Scheme (PHRTES).

All member websites routinely send the agreed metadata for their “shared” knowledge resources to the AIeHL’s central metadata cache.  Each member website also incorporates an agreed iFrame into their website. Visitors to one of these websites use this iFrame to enter the search parameters and these are sent to the web service which searches the AIeHL’s central metadata cache. The search results and associated metadata are returned to the iFrame, with different types of resources grouped together, for the user to browse. If a user then wants to access a particular resource, they are redirected to it on the resource provider’s website.

Aims
The AIeHL aims to support effective decision-making for health by helping people to more easily access those resources currently distributed across various websites on the island of Ireland. The AIeHL:

  • allows the user to retrieve the different types of resources in an effective and efficient manner;
  • provides a rational approach to the management of the resources on its member sites while reducing duplication;
  • facilitates more effective sharing and integration of knowledge.

As it develops, the AIeHL will provide a rational approach to the management and dissemination of the resources on its member sites.

Progress report (updated February 2008)
Phase 1 of the AIeHL includes the following member sites:

  • Irish Health Publications Archive - Health Service Executive (HSE);
  • Healthdata  – HSE;
  • IPH eLibrary – Institute of Public Health in Ireland (IPH);
  • National Documentation Centre on Drug Use (NDC) – Health Research Board (HSB);
  • Wellnet – Investing for Health (IfH) and Eastern Health and Social Services Board
    (EHSSB).

The AIeHL advisory group, chaired by Professor Jane Grimson of Trinity College Dublin (TCD), held its inaugural meeting in September 2007 and will help guide the future development of the library.

A members’ working group, consisting of a representative from each member website, has been established to undertake work on behalf of the library. The first meeting of this working group was held on 31 January 2008.

The iFrame for the AIeHL has been revised and is now also used for the Institute’s eLibrary.

Contact: Louise Bradley

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