The information-seeking behaviour of doctors: a review of the evidence

This paper provides a narrative review of the available literature from the past 10 years (1996-2006) that focus on the information seeking behaviour of doctors. The review considers the literature in three sub-themes: Theme 1, the Information Needs of Doctors includes information need, frequency of doctors' questions and types of information needs; Theme 2, Information Seeking by Doctors embraces pattern of information resource use, time spent searching, barriers to information searching and information searching skills; Theme 3, Information Sources Utilized by Doctors comprises the number of sources utilized, comparison of information sources consulted, computer usage, ranking of information resources, printed resource use, personal digital assistant (PDA) use, electronic database use and the Internet. The review is wide ranging. It would seem that the traditional methods of face-to-face communication and use of hard-copy evidence still prevail amongst qualified medical staff in the clinical setting. The use of new technologies embracing the new digital age in information provision may influence this in the future. However, for now, it would seem that there is still research to be undertaken to uncover the most effective methods of encouraging clinicians to use the best evidence in everyday practice.     

Information-seeking behaviors of practitioners in a primary care practice-based research network (PBRN).

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the information-seeking behaviors (e.g., information resource usage patterns, access to types of sources and to medical libraries, and use of particular information technologies) of members in a primary care practice-based research network (PBRN) to inform future efforts supporting primary care practitioners in their daily care of patients. METHODS: Every primary care practitioner who was a member of the Kentucky Ambulatory Network-including family practitioners, general practitioners, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants-was surveyed. The cross-sectional survey included twenty-six questions to investigate the information-seeking behavior of primary care practitioners. RESULTS: The response rate was 51% (59 of 116). Most practitioners (58%) stated they sought information to support patient care several times per week, and most (68%) noted they do this while the patient waited. Many practitioners (40%) never or almost never perform literature searches from online sources such as MEDLINE, although 44% said they did so a few times per month. A significant correlation between use of online sources and use of print sources suggests that those who seek online information more frequently than those who do not also seek information from print sources frequently, and vice versa. Access to medical libraries was also reported as high. CONCLUSIONS: Consistent with previous studies, the primary care practitioners in this rural PBRN reported more frequent use of print and interpersonal sources compared to online sources. There appeared to be, however, a clear difference between those practitioners who are more likely to seek information, regardless of format, and those who are less inclined. Future interventions will need to address such barriers as time, cost, and information-seeking skills.     

Analysis of reference sources used in drug-related Wikipedia articles

Objective

References from drug-related Wikipedia articles and a drug information database were compared.

Methods

Drugs in Food and Drug Administration (FDA) MedWatch alerts from January–July 2013 were searched in Wikipedia and Lexicomp to compare reference types and to assess the time for drug safety information to be incorporated into Wikipedia articles.

Results

Wikipedia most commonly cited peer-reviewed journal articles (49.2%) and news articles (12.0%). MedWatch citations were incorporated into Wikipedia on average in 5.9 days.

Conclusions

Wikipedia cited various sources but may not be a reliable, up-to-date resource for drug safety information.     

Multicenter randomized comparative trial of Micromedex,Micromedex with Watson,or Google to answer drug information questions

Objective:The purpose of this study was to compare pharmacy students’ ability to correctly answer drug information questions using Micromedex with Watson, Micromedex without Watson, or Google.Methods:This multicenter randomized trial compared pharmacy student responses to drug information questions using Micromedex with Watson, Micromedex without Watson, or Google from January to March of 2020. First- to fourth-year pharmacy students at two institutions were included. The primary outcome was the number of correct answers. Secondary outcomes were the time taken to answer the questions and differences in number of correct answers by pharmacy student year and institution.Results:The analysis included 162 participants: 52 students in the Micromedex group, 51 students in the Watson group, and 59 students in the Google group. There was a significant difference among groups in the total number of questions answered correctly (p=0.02). Post-hoc analysis revealed that participants in the Micromedex group answered more questions correctly than those in the Google group (p=0.015). There were no significant differences between Micromedex and Watson groups (p=0.52) or between Watson and Google groups (p=0.22). There was also no difference in time to complete the questions among groups (p=0.72).Conclusion:Utilizing Google did not save students time and led to more incorrect answers. These findings suggest that health care educators and health sciences librarians should further reinforce training on the appropriate use of drug information resources.     

图书馆用户信息资源化:概念解析与理论框架构建

[目的/意义] 厘清图书馆用户信息资源化概念内涵及外延,建立图书馆用户信息资源化研究的理论框架。[方法/过程] 采用文献分析法、比较分析法、系统分析法、案例分析法等,解析图书馆用户信息资源化概念的内涵、特征及其与相关概念的关系,借鉴信息资源管理、信息组织、知识管理等理论,初步建立一个图书馆用户信息资源化研究框架。[结果/结论] 图书馆用户信息资源化是一个系统动态过程,图书馆用户信息来源及类型、图书馆用户信息资源化的价值、图书馆用户资源化的关键技术与方法、图书馆用户信息资源的应用领域是图书馆用户信息资源化理论研究的4个基本问题。     

A Comparative Study of Sources of Health Information and Access to Preventive Care Among Low Income Chronic Drug Users

Much of health research that examines patterns of health utilization for chronic drug users fails to account for the role of media use and health information seeking. This paper suggests that the nature of drug use is associated with a decreased health orientation that is manifested in media selection and consumption. A comparative analysis was conducted to examine: (1) the differential health perceptions as a function of drug use, (2) the sources of information used, and (3) the relationship between sources of information and primary health care access among chronic users of illicit drugs and socio-demographically similar persons who are not chronic drug users. Results point to both common as well as differential patterns of health information sources. Logistic regression analysis found that medically related sources such as doctors and pamphlets are important sources associated with increased primary care. Important implications are discussed.     

Free medical news and current event Internet sites for medical librarians

The world of medical advancements is moving at a record pace. New drug approvals, important discoveries, and the explosion of consumer information on the Web have prompted health professionals with the need to keep current with the latest news stories in order to satisfy patient questions. The medical librarian who keeps up with the latest medical news is a valuable resource for all health professionals. The following is a compilation of sites for medical news available on the Web. The sites are limited to those that do not charge a fee and that direct the user immediately to top health stories, as opposed to requiring the use of a search feature. This list is not exhaustive; rather, it represents some of the more common news sources.     

A current perspective on medical informatics and health sciences librarianship.

OBJECTIVE: The article offers a current perspective on medical informatics and health sciences librarianship. NARRATIVE: The authors: (1) discuss how definitions of medical informatics have changed in relation to health sciences librarianship and the broader domain of information science; (2) compare the missions of health sciences librarianship and health sciences informatics, reviewing the characteristics of both disciplines; (3) propose a new definition of health sciences informatics; (4) consider the research agendas of both disciplines and the possibility that they have merged; and (5) conclude with some comments about actions and roles for health sciences librarians to flourish in the biomedical information environment of today and tomorrow. SUMMARY: Boundaries are disappearing between the sources and types of and uses for health information managed by informaticians and librarians. Definitions of the professional domains of each have been impacted by these changes in information. Evolving definitions reflect the increasingly overlapping research agendas of both disciplines. Professionals in these disciplines are increasingly functioning collaboratively as "boundary spanners," incorporating human factors that unite technology with health care delivery.     

How does the purchasing staff of an accident insurance organization seek information about treatment effectiveness?

Objectives: The objective is to study how the staff who purchase health care services for a large national government accident-compensation system seek information on treatment effectiveness, how they assess the quality of that information, whether they question the information sources they choose, and how familiar they are with the key concepts of evidence-based health care (EBHC).Method: Staff (22 out of 34) of the health purchasing division of the New Zealand Accident Compensation Corporation (NZ ACC) were interviewed using eight preformatted questions to which they could provide open and multiple answers. Responses were subsequently codified into typologies for quantitative analysis.Results: Most respondents report that they assess the effectiveness of a treatment by accessing published information (nonhuman sources), by consulting others (human sources), or by both means. They assess the quality of information mostly by consulting others, and the second-highest proportion of responses state that they do not know how to evaluate the quality of information. No clear preference emerges with respect to the types of information needed to determine the effectiveness of treatments. The majority of the staff believes they can access information needed to determine treatment effectiveness through the Internet or information databases such as MEDLINE. Although most said they understand the key concepts of EBHC, only five out of twenty-two were able to accurately describe them.Conclusions: The findings suggest that there is a low level of awareness among the staff of the NZ ACC regarding the use of evidence and understanding of the key concepts of EBHC. Many surveyed staff members lack the skills or training to directly question information about effectiveness of a treatment. They have little idea of the information required to determine the effectiveness of a treatment, and the majority appears to lack the skills to evaluate the health care literature.     

Web usage mining at an academic health sciences library: an exploratory study.

OBJECTIVES: This paper explores the potential of multinomial logistic regression analysis to perform Web usage mining for an academic health sciences library Website. METHODS: Usage of database-driven resource gateway pages was logged for a six-month period, including information about users' network addresses, referring uniform resource locators (URLs), and types of resource accessed. RESULTS: It was found that referring URL did vary significantly by two factors: whether a user was on-campus and what type of resource was accessed. CONCLUSIONS: Although the data available for analysis are limited by the nature of the Web and concerns for privacy, this method demonstrates the potential for gaining insight into Web usage that supplements Web log analysis. It can be used to improve the design of static and dynamic Websites today and could be used in the design of more advanced Web systems in the future.     

Foreign Drug Information Retrieval

Health science library service often includes identifying drugs manufactured, prescribed, or dispensed in other countries. Discussion of complexities in drug nomenclature, establishing equivalency, and differing standards adopted by reference sources may encourage more effective information provision. Statistical data gathered from a drug information center's experience with identification requests can indicate relevant sources. An analysis of such data, collected over a 40-month time period and involving over 550 foreign drug information questions, may contribute practical knowledge to individuals responsible for collection development, reference service, or bibliographic instruction. Guidelines for print and online search strategies are included, applicable in answering both domestic and foreign drug information questions.     

Real-time,evidence-based medicine instruction: a randomized controlled trial in a neonatal intensive care unit

Purpose: The study assesses potential for improving residents'' evidence-based medicine searching skills in MEDLINE through real-time librarian instruction.Subjects: Ten residents on a rotation in a neonatal intensive care unit participated.Methodology: Residents were randomized into an instruction and a non-instruction group. Residents generated questions from rounds and searched MEDLINE for answers. Data were collected through observation, search strategy analysis, and surveys. Librarians observed searches and collected data on questions, searching skills, search problems, and the test group''s instruction topics. Participants performed standardized searches before, after, and six-months after intervention and were scored using a search strategy analysis tool (1 representing highest score and 5 representing lowest score). Residents completed pre- and post-intervention surveys to measure opinions about MEDLINE and search satisfaction.Results: Post-intervention, the test group formulated better questions, used limits more effectively, and reported greater confidence in using MEDLINE. The control group expressed less satisfaction with retrieval and demonstrated more errors when limiting. The test and control groups had the following average search scores respectively: 3.0 and 3.5 (pre-intervention), 3.3 and 3.4 (post-intervention), and 2.0 and 3.8 (six-month post-intervention).Conclusion: Data suggest that measurable learning outcomes were achieved. Residents receiving instruction improved and retained searching skills six-months after intervention.     

POINTER vs. Using Government Publications:

POINTER is a microcomputer program that simulates the advice of a government documents librarian by suggesting the use of particular reference books. Using Government Publications is a two volume work which identifies search strategies and sources of information for handling many specific topics and types of questions associated with federal documents. A comparison of these two reference aids reveals advantages and disadvantages of each as well as the difficulty of developing a conceptual framework for federal document research.     

Pharmacists’ utilization and interest in usage of personal digital assistants in their professional responsibilities

Background and objectives: Pharmacists use PDAs for performing various activities related to their profession. The objective of this study was to examine pharmacists’ utilization pattern and interest in usage of personal digital assistants (PDAs) in various facets of health care. Methods: A cross‐sectional survey was conducted by distributing a pre‐validated 23‐item instrument to a convenience sample of pharmacists (n = 295) in the Houston area. Usage frequency (0 = never to 5 = frequently) and interest in future use (1 = extremely disinterested to 5 = extremely interested) of PDAs for various activities were evaluated and compared across pharmacy practice settings. Results: Most pharmacists reported maximum use of PDAs, as personal organizers (3.7 ± 1.8), in obtaining drug information (2.9 ± 1.8) and as medical calculators (2.6 ± 1.9). Similar results were obtained while evaluating interest of pharmacists who did not have PDAs and have never used PDAs for these three activities. Hospital pharmacists owned and used PDAs significantly (P < 0.05) more often than community pharmacists. Conclusions: Pharmacists used PDAs for basic functions in their profession role. Application of PDA technology in community pharmacy settings may result in its better adoption in both the settings.     

The Royal College of Nursing's information needs survey of nurses and health professionals

Aims: To find out about the nursing community's needs in the following areas: information or knowledge to improve practice in the clinical area; information to support lifelong learning and formal study. Methods: A questionnaire was circulated in summer 2004 containing questions on types of information source used for particular types of problem or question; specific sources used; ease of access to various information sources including computers and the Internet, and local health library; and workplace culture and environment. Results: A total of 1715 usable questionnaires were completed and returned. Significant numbers of the nursing community have currently no or limited access to computers. Nursing staff in the independent sector had less access to computers and the Internet than those working for the National Health Service (NHS). Workplace culture was as important as access to IT equipment. Conclusions: As a result of the survey, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is working with the NHS and the independent health sector to improve access and provide complementary services for the whole nursing community.