Writing in plain language matters. In Canada, it’s reported that nine million people have limited literacy skills, with over half of Canadians reading below a high school level. This is just one of the reasons why it is important to offer additional support to patients and families with easy-to-read, straightforward patient pamphlets. For more information about creating or updating patient pamphlets, please visit the Content Creator Toolkit. Please contact pamphlets@nshealth.ca with any questions. You can search for pamphlets by title, keyword, or four-digit pamphlet number in the library catalogue, or view the complete listing of active titles in our Print Code Index.
The following pamphlets were updated or created in December 2021:
Breast
WS85-2246 NEW Breast Lumpectomy
Digestive System
WI85-1422 Ulcerative Proctitis
French Translations (en français)
FF85-1548 Politique de réduction du tabagisme de Santé Nouvelle-Écosse (English: WX85-1547)
FF85-1656 Prévention des chutes et des blessures pendant votre hospitalisation (English: WX85-1643)
FF85-1817 Maturation cervicale au moyen du gel vaginal de dinoprostone (ProstinMD) (English: WP85-1772)
FF85-1900 Programme d’exercices en position assise (English: WB85-1563)
FF85-1919 Ophtalmopathie thyroïdienne (English: WW85-1840)
FF85-1947 Capsulotomie au laser YAG (English: WW85-0464)
FF85-2171 Trousse d'information sur la COVID-19 – Famille, partenaires de soins essentiels et proches aidants (English: WC85-2170)*
FF85-2247 NEW Aide médicale à mourir (AMM) (English: WD85-2229)
Infectious Disease
WC85-2170 COVID-19 Toolkit – Family/Essential Care Partner(s) and Family Caregivers (en français: FF85-2171)*
WC85-2249 NEW Welcome to the COVID-19 Inpatient Unit (Unit 8.3)
Laboratory Pathology
QY85-1635 Standing Orders
Musculoskeletal System
WE85-2245 NEW Hip Fracture Recovery Guide - Aberdeen Regional Hospital
WE85-2248 NEW Hip Protectors
Nursing Units
WZ85-2113 Welcome to the Stroke Unit: 4C - Cape Breton Regional Hospital
Pain Management
PM85-1909 Yarmouth Pain Self-Management Program
*These items are available for order from Dalhousie Printing Services and online via the COVID-19 HUB.
Kallen Rutledge
Librarian Educator, Patient Education & LMS
Nova Scotia Hospital, Central Zone
It’s a question you may be hearing from your patients these days. The arrival of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in 2020 sparked an increased interest in dietary supplements (Aysin & Urhan, 2021; Hamulka et al, 2021). While the jury’s still out on whether supplements such as vitamin D and zinc can improve a person’s ability to fight off COVID-19, it’s safe to assume some of your patients have added them to their regime—without necessarily knowing the safe dose or of possible interactions with pharmaceuticals.
The Natural Medicines™ database can help you guide your patients in their safe use of dietary supplements. Its monographs and tools such as 'Interaction Checker' and 'Effectiveness Checker' cover thousands of supplements, natural medicines, and complementary and integrative therapies.
Can vitamin D be used as a COVID-19 prophylaxis?
Let's look at vitamin D, one of the supplements currently being studied in clinical trials as a potential COVID-19 prophylaxis. Enter the search term “vitamin D” in the Natural Medicines™ ‘Search’ box and click on the icon.
You can then view the full product monograph (1) or jump to the specific information you need for your patient, such as effectiveness (2) or safe dosage (3).
Using the Interaction Checker
Maybe you want to know if your patient can safely take a vitamin D supplement while also taking a specific pharmaceutical, such as Lipitor®. Rather than scrolling through the ‘Interactions with Drugs’ section of the monograph, you can use the ‘Interaction Checker’ tool.
Enter the name of one of the items you want to crosscheck (such as ‘vitamin D’) in the search box (1). Click on the item when it appears in the ‘Search Matches’ list (2), then click the ‘Add’ button (3) to add it to the ‘Selected Agents’ box. Repeat these steps to add another item (such as Lipitor®) to the list of ‘Selected Agents.’
If there are any potential interactions, they will instantly appear in the ‘Results Summary’ box (4). Natural Medicines™ colour-codes this information so you can quickly see if this is a safe combination (green), a moderate interaction risk (yellow) or a severe interaction risk (red). Click ‘View Details’ (5) for a detailed explanation and the evidence the recommendation is based on.
Natural Medicines™ can also help you:
Reach out to us at AskLibrary@nshealth.ca with any questions you have about Natural Medicines™ or book a consultation with a Library Services team member.
References
Aysin, E., & Urhan, M. (2021). Dramatic increase in dietary supplement use during COVID-19. Current Developments in Nutrition, 5(2, Suppl.), 207. https://doi.org/10.1093/cdn/nzab029_008
Hamulka, J., Jeruszka-Bielak, M., Górnicka, M., Drywień, M.E., & Zielinska-Pukos, M.A. (2021). Dietary supplements during COVID-19 outbreak: Results of Google trends analysis supported by PLifeCOVID-19 online studies. Nutrients, 13(1), 54.https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13010054
Lana MacEachern
Library Technician
Aberdeen Regional Hospital, Northern Zone