Source
West of Scotland Cancer Surveillance Unit, Division of Community Based Sciences, University of Glasgow, 1 Lilybank Gardens, Glasgow, G12 8DN, UK. d.s.morrison@clinmed.gla.ac.uk
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
To describe the use of NICE, the acronym for the UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, as both an adjective and noun in peer-reviewed journal article titles.
DESIGN:
Systematic review of titles retrieved by electronic database searches.
DATA SOURCES:
Ovid databases (MEDLINE, All EBM Reviews, EMBASE, ERIC, CINAHL and PsycINFO) covering the formation of NICE in 1999 to February 2008.
REVIEW METHODS:
Independent review of eligible titles by both authors and resolution of disagreements based on consideration of full text articles.
RESULTS:
2274 articles were retrieved that included reference to NICE in their titles. Of these, 167 (7.3%) used NICE as an adjective, most commonly in conjunction with the terms 'work', 'not so' (NICE), 'nasty', 'mess' and 'try'.
CONCLUSIONS:
The work of NICE has been widely referenced in peer-reviewed journal article titles, sometimes with apparent humorous intent when used as an adjective. Well-chosen names may increase the recognizability of public health organizations and help to communicate their roles.