If we are to have an impact on knowledge translation in Australian healthcare, we need to make research more visible. There is often disappointment the latest information in the health informatics domain comes from jurisdictions other than Australia. Is Australia really making such an insignificant contribution to the knowledge base? Definitely not. It may be that our research is buried in academic journals and not readily accessible to the broader health informatics community.
The HISA Journal Club showcases the most recent research findings and projects in health informatics across Australia through blog posts. Rather than upload whole articles, the blog posts take a few minutes to read; translate the research into non-technical language; offer links to the authors; and provide the ability to have an online discussion about the research.
What’s in it for you as an author?
As an author, the journal club’s point of difference is that it profiles you and your work amongst academic peers, industry and the community your research intends to impact.
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Before you write your blog, here are some guidelines for completing the blog post template.
Information about Authors:
Name: your first and last name will be published as the writer of the blog post. You may or may not be the primary author of the research, but as the writer of the blog, you would be affiliated with the research in some way (one of the authors). The name recorded here will appear against the blog post.
Job Title: provides information that readers are often interested to know about authors. Include post nominals.
Organisation: this is the organisation/s to which the author is affiliated. This also provides context for the research and/or researcher.
Email: this is the best email contact if we need to get back to you about your blog.
HISA member: we are keen to promote and profile the work of our members. While readership is open, submission of blogs is exclusive to HISA members only. For information on how to join HISA, go to our HISA website.
Primary Author: research is often co-authored and so the lead (first) author of the paper is the one who will have the research featured against their name on the authors page. Co-authors will be listed on the full paper. If you are not the primary author, please ensure you list the primary author’s name in this field.
Brief Biography: this a 100-word precis of research interests and expertise of the primary author (rather than details of your job and where you work).
Headshot Photo: Upload a high resolution jpeg photo (head and shoulder shot) of the primary author. This is added to the authors page.
Tips for writing your blog:
Blog title: Choose a blog title that is catchy – if you want people to read your research, you need to grab their attention through the blog title. The blog title is NOT the same as the title you have given your published paper. You can make the title captivating through strong language, alliteration or other tactic. Keep the title short, sharp and less than 65 characters.
What’s the research: in less than 100 words, describe what the research is about in simple language that your next door neighbour would understand.
Why the research is important: in less than 200 words, and again in simple language convince the reader why the research and its findings are so important at this time. The research may be addressing a current or emerging issue, a pain point, or offering a solution. In this section, you are making a pitch for your paper and clearly giving a response to the question, “so what?”.
Key-learnings or take-home messages: in less than 100 words, what are the main messages you want to convey to the reader. What is the lasting impression you want to make to the reader that drives them to want to read your full paper.
Who should read this paper: in less than 100 words commend your research to specific audiences, roles, settings, sectors of healthcare and describe why it is important for them to read and respond accordingly within their own organisations/settings.
Full article: insert a hyperlink to the citation and original article (e.g. https://academic.oup.com/jamia/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/jamia/ocv110)
MeSH Categories: We have adopted the AMIA set of key words to classify blogs. Choose one or more categories to describe the main topics covered. It will allow readers to find your blog and full article again at a later date but also to browse for more content in the same category.
Tags: Provide further subcategories for your blog, for example, to describe the type of research methodology, setting etc.
Twitter: Social media is such an important tool for communication and engagement. You are encouraged to craft a tweet of at least one key point that the readers of your blog may choose to tweet.
Feel free to add any comments: if there is anything that you wish to add or communicate to editors (that has not been covered so far in the blog), please use this space to do so.
Sample blog post
Here is a sample blog post as it appears on the HISA journal club:
Once you feel comfortable you understand how to write a blog post of your research, click here.
