Background: Healthcare professionals must continuously update their competencies to keep pace with evolving clinical practices; however, traditional continuing professional development (CPD) methods often have limited impact on competency and performance. Micro-credentials have emerged as a flexible and personalized alternative to traditional CPD, yet little is known about how they are designed, implemented, and evaluated in health professions education. As educational systems invest heavily in micro-credentials, a clearer understanding of their educational value is essential. Methods: Using a scoping review guided by Arksey and O’Malley’s six-stage framework and PRISMA-ScR guidelines, we systematically searched seven databases (inception–December 2024) and conducted a structured grey literature review. We examined the instructional design features, pedagogical underpinnings, assessment strategies, and reported impacts of micro-credentials. Results: We included 19 peer-reviewed papers and 35 websites describing health-related micro-credentials. Most studies were published in 2024 (42.1%), originated from the United States (42.1%), and nearly half (47.4%) provided only descriptive accounts. A wide range of instructional design features were identified, though pedagogical theories were rarely stated. Assessment strategies predominantly emphasized summative approaches (e.g., multiple-choice knowledge checks), with limited focus on higher-level competency assessment. Reported outcomes were primarily improvements in knowledge, confidence, or engagement, with no clear evidence of the distinct value of micro-credentials as a teaching modality. Discussion: Current literature offers limited evaluation of micro-credentials and often lacks theory-informed design. We infer a pedagogical foundation aligned with constructivist, context-sensitive, and stage-based principles, which may inform the development of future micro-credential programs.

Joseph Kerski has identified five converging global trends—geo-awareness, geo-enablement, geotechnologies, citizen science, and storytelling—which contribute to the increased relevance of geography for education and society. While these trends are discussed by Kerski in the context of the proliferating significance of geography in teaching and education, they also provide a useful lens for considering the increasing ubiquity of critical approaches to cartography both in general and in the context of teaching and education, where mapping can include participatory collaborations with individuals from a variety of knowledge communities and extend to the mapping of experiences, emotions, and Indigenous perspectives. In this paper, we consider these trends and related ideas such as Kerski’s “geoliteracy” and metaliteracy in light of some relatively current examples and in light of the evolution of research and teaching linked with a series of interrelated map-based projects and courses that take a multidimensional approach to teaching and learning about the Residential Schools Legacy in Canada.

Background: African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) communities in high-income countries continue to experience persistent health inequities, driven by systemic anti-Black racism, socioeconomic disadvantage, and exclusion from health decision-making. Historically, data have been extracted from ACB communities without transparency, accountability, or community ownership. These inequitable practices have produced data systems that reinforce harm rather than promote equity. Equitable data governance, which promotes community ownership over data collection, access, and use, is increasingly recognized as a critical but underresearched determinant of health equity. Objective: This protocol outlines the methodology of a scoping review to identify and synthesize evidence on the determinants of equitable data governance in health research involving ACB communities in high-income countries. Methods: The review follows the 6-stage Arksey and O’Malley methodological framework, supplemented with updated guidance from the Joanna Briggs Institute. The searches were conducted in the Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid Embase, EBSCO CINAHL, APA PsycInfo, and Scopus databases. Peer-reviewed articles are considered, with no limits placed on study design, publication type, or date. Multiple reviewers will independently extract data by using a standardized form. A 3-phase thematic mapping process, conceptually informed by critical race theory, intersectionality, and community-based participatory research principles, will be conducted to analyze the data, generate themes, and interpret findings. Results: The final comprehensive database searches were completed on December 17, 2024. The search strategy targeted literature on data management, governance, sharing, security, and ethical principles in relation to ACB populations in high-income countries. A total of 4365 records were screened at the title and abstract level, after deduplication, of which 247 studies were deemed potentially relevant and advanced to full-text screening. Following full-text screening and reference list searching a total of 15 articles were deemed eligible for analysis. The data extraction stage is scheduled to overlap and occur between November 2025 and February 2026. The thematic mapping and stakeholder consultations processes are scheduled between December 2025 and February 2026. The final review and manuscript submission are expected by March 2026, with dissemination activities planned for mid-2026. Conclusions: This review will synthesize existing information on key pillars, barriers, facilitators, promising data governance policies and practices, and recommendations relevant to ACB communities. The findings may inform the expansion of Ontario’s Engagement, Governance, Access, and Protection guidelines and support tailored research and national data governance frameworks. The review is expected to contribute to policy, research, and community-led data initiatives. Dissemination will occur through academic publications, conferences, and community-based knowledge-sharing events. As the review relies solely on publicly available data, ethics approval is not required. Trial Registration: OSF Registries 10.17605/OSF.IO/Z82AY; https://osf.io/z82ay International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): PRR1-10.2196/82403

The objective of this environmental scan is to determine the reporting of librarian involvement in systematic and scoping reviews published by authors affiliated with the University of Ottawa.

BACKGROUND African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) communities in high-income countries continue to experience persistent health inequities, driven by systemic anti-Black racism, socioeconomic disadvantage, and exclusion from health decision-making. Historically, data have been extracted from ACB communities without transparency, accountability, or community ownership. These inequitable practices have produced data systems that reinforce harm rather than promote equity. Equitable data governance, which promotes community ownership over data collection, access, and use, is increasingly recognized as a critical but underresearched determinant of health equity. OBJECTIVE This protocol outlines the methodology of a scoping review to identify and synthesize evidence on the determinants of equitable data governance in health research involving ACB communities in high-income countries. METHODS The review follows the 6-stage Arksey and O’Malley methodological framework, supplemented with updated guidance from the Joanna Briggs Institute. The searches were conducted in the Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid Embase, EBSCO CINAHL, APA PsycInfo, and Scopus databases. Peer-reviewed articles are considered, with no limits placed on study design, publication type, or date. Multiple reviewers will independently extract data by using a standardized form. A 3-phase thematic mapping process, conceptually informed by critical race theory, intersectionality, and community-based participatory research principles, will be conducted to analyze the data, generate themes, and interpret findings. RESULTS The final comprehensive database searches were completed on December 17, 2024. The search strategy targeted literature on data management, governance, sharing, security, and ethical principles in relation to ACB populations in high-income countries. A total of 4365 records were screened at the title and abstract level, after deduplication, of which 247 studies were deemed potentially relevant and advanced to full-text screening. Following full-text screening and reference list searching a total of 15 articles were deemed eligible for analysis. The data extraction stage is scheduled to overlap and occur between November 2025 and February 2026. The thematic mapping and stakeholder consultations processes are scheduled between December 2025 and February 2026. The final review and manuscript submission are expected by March 2026, with dissemination activities planned for mid-2026. CONCLUSIONS This review will synthesize existing information on key pillars, barriers, facilitators, promising data governance policies and practices, and recommendations relevant to ACB communities. The findings may inform the expansion of Ontario’s Engagement, Governance, Access, and Protection guidelines and support tailored research and national data governance frameworks. The review is expected to contribute to policy, research, and community-led data initiatives. Dissemination will occur through academic publications, conferences, and community-based knowledge-sharing events. As the review relies solely on publicly available data, ethics approval is not required. CLINICALTRIAL OSF Registries 10.17605/OSF.IO/Z82AY; https://osf.io/z82ay INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT PRR1-10.2196/82403

In the last 10 years, there has been an upward trend in the number of requests for collaborations with librarians on knowledge synthesis projects at the University of Ottawa. These requests have occurred mostly in the disciplines of health sciences and medicine, but have also increased in education, psychology, management, and social sciences. To better understand the workload experienced by the uOttawa Library team and the institutional visibility of this labour, we seek to: a) better understand the volume of reviews being published by the University of Ottawa and the change over time; b) understand to what extent librarians have been involved in published reviews over time; and c) better understand the breakdown of publications by discipline and affiliated institutions.