For this month’s Specialty Profile, we’re highlighting the second issue in the second volume of Doody’s Special Topics Lists, our latest offering to the health information community.  

On January 3, we published the latest Doody’s Special Topics List focused on Rural Health. The breadth and scope of the inaugural DSTL on Health Equity highlighted the demand for a more focused spotlight on the unique needs of specific health communities. Delivering health care and information to rural communities requires special consideration of infrastructure and technology access. Sparsely populated rural and remote regions rely on distantly connected health networks of clinics and regional hospitals to meet the needs of their residents. Effective access to these facilities can be a challenge. The increased viability of using telehealth as a means of primary care has drawn attention to rural broadband issues. Ensuring rural communities are equipped with reliable access to the internet is vital to promoting rural health care and facilitating access to important health information. 

Thus, our Doody’s Special Topics List aggregates titles focused on clinical health issues among rural populations, but also on factors that influence the well-being of these communities: access to internet/broadband, infrastructure, food supplies, economic disparities, and poverty, to name a few. The list assembles titles specific to rural health, among others that provide context for broader, more dominant public health discourses, including issues of health equity, policy, and ethics. Similarly, the list draws on social and political determinants of health by incorporating resources related to the role of community and family in the health of rural communities. Finally, clinical titles represent multiple professional lenses with a focus on nursing and mental health.   

Selected by librarians with experience in meeting the information needs of rural communities, the list is comprised of 42 titles from 18 publishers. The list prices of the titles range from $28.99 to $265.00, the average being $85.55. Four of the titles were selected for Doody’s Core Titles 2021. Twelve of the titles have been reviewed by experts in Doody’s Review Service, with copyright dates ranging from 2015 to 2022. 

If you’re a Doody’s Review Service subscriber, you can access the list by clicking here and logging in to your account. If you’re a Doody’s Core Titles customer, you can access the list by clicking here and logging into your account. You may also be able to access the list through one of our licensing partners: EBSCO, Rittenhouse, Matthews, Ovid, ProQuest, and Login Canada. If you need help getting access, please contact Customer Service and we’ll gladly assist you. We are excited to begin work on the third issue of this volume of Doody’s Special Topics Lists, which will publish in April 2022 and take a deep dive into health insurance and the cost of health care.