Articles of Note: October 2020 Edition

It’s time once again for Articles of Note, our monthly romp through the peer-reviewed literature. It’s a long one this month–there’s a lot that is worth your time, and maybe a few that are worth noticing, even if not very good (because sometimes it’s as important to know what isn’t worth factoring into your evidence base). That’s basically to remind you that just because an article makes my monthly list doesn’t mean you should assume it’s excellent science–articles that appear on this site need to be evaluated by each reader for themselves. And even if you believe an article is good science, is it relevant to your practice? Is it generalizable to the patient populations that you see? There are several good resources for evaluating science, if you’re not sure where to start: here’s an easy graphic on spotting bad science; NSVRC has quite a bit on their site about evaluating research that I would recommend checking out. And for those of you who would like a worksheet to use as a template to work off of while reviewing articles, here’s something I created that you are welcome to use:

Links mainly go to PubMed abstracts, except where noted. If you’re having trouble finding articles let me know–we have access to full-text through a couple of different avenues for those of you who aren’t blessed with hospital librarians or university medical libraries. We are continuing with the single download link (for those of you who like to print it off), instead of the embedded doc, since I got rave reviews (and no one emailed me telling me they missed the old way). And the link comes through in the email, so bonus points for that.

I’ll be doing a virtual testimony training on Monday the 19th for the OH chapter of IAFN, so looking forward to seeing folks through my computer screen. Reach out if you’d like to host one of your own. I have some time on my calendar for a few more virtual events as several trials have pled out and I am able to do more and more via Zoom and Microsoft Teams (including court appearances–it’s a brave new world, kids).

Hope everyone is hanging in there– is healthy, is protecting their mental well-being. If you’re a US reader and you can vote, please do. If you can help others get to the polls and vote, bonus points for you. I have already voted myself, and plan to volunteer with Chefs for the Polls since the trial I had that week has now gone away. Whatever you can do to support folx being able to exercise their right to vote in this election is a mitzvah. Let’s see how we’re all doing this time next month.

Don’t forget to visit our FHO Store where you’ll find a complete list of our offerings, perfect to help prep for your next court date or educational offering, including the latest: Applying the Strangulation Research to Expert Testimony. And coming soon: Testimony and the Forensic Nurse Expert.

Photo by Syd Wachs on Unsplash