Infection control professionals' information‐seeking preferences |
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| Authors: | Heidi J. Mortensen Jeffrey L. Alexander Guy M. Nehrenz Cynthia Porter |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Sutter Roseville Medical Center, , Roseville, CA, USA;2. Department of Interdisciplinary Health Sciences, Arizona School of Health Sciences, A.T. Still University, , Mesa, AZ, USA;3. College of Health Care Sciences, Nova Southeastern University, , Fort Lauderdale‐Davie, FL, USA;4. A.T. Still Memorial Library, A.T. Still University, , Mesa, AZ, USA |
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| Abstract: | Objectives The aims of this study were to: 1) establish whether infection control professionals (ICPs) who had access to and utilised medical librarian services for evidence‐based medicine (EBM) research perceived this assistance to be useful and 2) to establish whether ICPs who used electronic or hard copy resources for EBM research perceived that those resources had a significant impact on their work. Methods Convenience sampling was used to collect quantitative data via a questionnaire. Study participants were members of South‐west and Western chapters of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. There were 264 questionnaires distributed in this study; 179 participants completed the questionnaire. The response rate for eligible respondents was 59.5% (157). Results Results indicated 56.7% (51) of the ICPs with librarian access reported requesting assistance from their work facility librarian. In reference to locating infection control information, 77.9% (95), 87.3% (124) and 93.3% (138) of ICPs found textbooks, journals and the Internet ‘very useful’ or ‘useful’, respectively. Conclusion Study results indicated ICPs who used the assistance of medical librarians and/or hard copy or electronic resources for EBM research perceived such sources to be valuable for obtaining infection control information. |
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| Keywords: | evidence‐based medicine infection control information‐seeking behaviour librarians questionnaires |
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