Health sciences librarians’ awareness and incorporation of informed consent standards for medical image publication: A preliminary study

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine if health sciences
library workers were aware of informed consent best practices and
standards for the publication of medical images and if they incorporated
the recommendations into their professional work. Methods: A survey was
developed by the authors to determine awareness and incorporation of
informed consent best practices and standards for the publication of
medical images. The survey was distributed via listservs of professional
librarian associations in the United States. The results of the survey
were tabulated in RStudio. Fisher’s Exact Test was carried out to
determine if awareness of informed consent influenced job
responsibilities. Results: A total of 91 respondents were included in the
data analysis with all respondents reporting multiple
responsibilities (instructional, collections, and/or digital initiatives).
While the majority of library workers (59%) were aware of the best
practices and standards, few incorporated the recommendations into their
professional work. Over 50% of librarians with instructional
responsibilities, over 70% of librarians with collections
responsibilities, and over 60% of librarians with digital initiative
responsibilities were aware of the recommendations, but did not
incorporate the recommendations into their job duties. Conclusions: The
professional work of health sciences library workers does not appear to
include a significant incorporation of informed consent best practices and
standards for the publication of medical images. There is a need for
future research to better understand how library workers can better
incorporate their knowledge of informed consent recommendations into their
work.