The Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) thesaurus is a controlled and hierarchically-organized vocabulary produced by the National Library of Medicine (NLM). It is used for indexing, cataloging, and searching of biomedical and health-related information. MeSH includes the subject headings appearing in MEDLINE/PubMed, the NLM Catalog, and other NLM databases.

The NLM has released its annual list of MeSH changes, including highly anticipated NEW MeSH (Medical Subject Heading) terms for 2022!

The list covers a variety of changes and updates made to MeSH, including:

• Updated terms — these are MeSH terms that have been deleted, changed, or replaced to reflect more updated terminology
  • 24 terms were updated for 2022
• New terms — these are brand new MeSH terms added
  • 277 new MeSH Descriptors were added for 2022
  • 218 new Supplementary Concepts were added for 2022

New Covid-19-related MeSH Headings:

• 2019-nCoV Vaccine mRNA-1273
• BNT162 Vaccine
• Ad26COVS1
• ChAdOx1 nCoV-19
• Persistent Infection
• mRNA Vaccines
• Aerosolized Particles and Droplets
• Respiratory Aerosols and Droplets
• Adjuvants, Vaccine
• Nucleic Acid-Based Vaccines
• Vaccine Development
• Vaccine Efficacy
• Antigenic Drift and Shift
• Mass Gatherings
• Vaccination Hesitancy
• Thromboinflammation

New Cancer-related MeSH Headings:

• Immunomodulating Agents
• Interleukin Inhibitors
• MTOR Inhibitors
• Memory T Cells
• Memory B Cells
• Radiation Fibrosis Syndrome

Note: The MeSH Browser can be used to conduct in-depth searches of the vocabulary within MeSH, whereas the MeSH Database is a mapping tool within PubMed to quickly locate terms and add them to search strategies.

The library recently acquired a subscription to Cochrane Interactive Learning, an online introductory course on how to conduct a systematic review of interventions. This 15-hour self-paced course, divided into 11 modules, covers the following topics:

• Module 1: Introduction to conducting systematic reviews
• Module 2: Writing the review protocol
• Module 3: Searching for studies
• Module 4: Selecting studies and collecting data
• Module 5: Introduction to study quality and risk of bias
• Module 6: Analyzing the data
• Module 7: Interpreting the findings
• Module 8: Reporting the review
• Module 9: Introduction to health economics
• Module 10: Network meta-analysis
• Module 11: Health equity in systematic reviews

This dynamic and flexible course is designed for both beginners and experienced review authors, and is broken down into over 100 small learning units that build on the knowledge one step at a time. Complete with interactive activities and quizzes, each module also finishes with an assessment to demonstrate skills and download a certificate of completion.

For technical support accessing the course, please refer to the registration instructions.

Did you know that the MSK Library provides access to current and back-issues of the New York Times? There is also now no need to register or log in to the NYT to access content (previously our subscription required you to register for a NYT account and log in). We have upgraded our NYT subscription to work with OpenAthens so simply click and authenticate and you are set to read, whether on campus, at home, on VPN, or on your mobile device!!

Explore even more of our resources now accessible remotely through OpenAthens, such as UpToDate! We are constantly adding new databases to be accessible through this easy to use software.

NOTE: OpenAthens is only available to MSK staff through their MSK login credentials.