Information‐seeking trends of medical professionals and students from middle‐income countries: a focus on the Philippines. (23rd July 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gavino, Alex I.; Ho, Beverly Lorraine C.; Wee, Pura Angela A.; Marcelo, Alvin B.; Fontelo, Paul
• Is Part Of: Health information and libraries journal. Volume 30:Number 4(2013:Dec.)
• Page Start: 303
• Page End: 317
• Publication Date: 2013-07-23
• Subjects: Medical libraries -- Periodicals; Public health libraries -- Periodicals; Life sciences libraries -- Periodicals; Medical libraries -- Great Britain -- Periodicals; Public health libraries -- Great Britain -- Periodicals; Information science -- Periodicals; 026.61094105
• DOI: 10.1111/hir.12032
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1471-1834

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" id="hir12032-abs-0001"> <title>Abstract</title> <sec id="hir12032-sec-0001" sec-type="section"> <title>Background</title> <p>Increased emphasis has been given to the practice of evidence‐based medicine (EBM) worldwide. Access to quality health information is essential to the practice of EBM in developing countries.</p> </sec> <sec id="hir12032-sec-0002" sec-type="section"> <title>Objectives</title> <p>To understand the information needs and sources of information of physicians from low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs).</p> </sec> <sec id="hir12032-sec-0003" sec-type="section"> <title>Methods</title> <p>Medical doctors and students participated in an 18‐question online or paper study.</p> </sec> <sec id="hir12032-sec-0004" sec-type="section"> <title>Results</title> <p>Of the 156 respondents from six LMICs, 146 (94%) came from the Philippines. Eighty‐eight per cent encountered at least one clinical question daily, while 58% were very likely to search for answers. A basic mobile phone was the most used device at home (94%) and at work (82%). More than half had Internet connectivity at home (62%) and just under half at work (46%). In decreasing order, short messaging services (SMS), email, instant messaging and multimedia messaging services (MMS) were the most commonly used messaging tools at home and at work. The primary source for medication questions was a formulary, but for diagnostic dilemmas, colleagues were consulted first. PubMed use was high for therapy and management questions.</p> </sec> <sec id="hir12032-sec-0005" sec-type="section"> <title>Conclusion</title> <p>The use of health information from the Internet through mobile devices may be increasing. Access to health information was higher at home than at work. These results may be useful when planning resources for healthcare givers in resource‐poor settings.</p> </sec> </abstract>