Journal of Education and Health Promotion

Determining the level of awareness of the physicians in using the variety of electronic information resources and the effecting factors

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

. Ahmad Papi
. Roghayeh Ghazavi 1
. Salimeh Moradi 2

1 Department of Scientometrics, Vice Chancellery of Research and Technology, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan,

2 Department of Library and Information Sciences, School of Humanities, Payame‑Noor University, Mashhad, Iran

Abstract
Background: Understanding of the medical society’s from the types of information resources for quick
and easy access to information is an imperative task in medical researches and management of the
treatment. The present study was aimed to determine the level of awareness of the physicians in using
various electronic information resources and the factors affecting it. Materials and Methods: This study
was a descriptive survey. The data collection tool was a researcher‑made questionnaire. The study
population included all the physicians and specialty physicians of the teaching hospitals affiliated
to Isfahan University of Medical Sciences and numbered 350. The sample size based on Morgan’s
formula was set at 180. The content validity of the tool was confirmed by the library and information
professionals and the reliability was 95%. Descriptive statistics were used including the SPSS
software version 19. Results: On reviewing the need of the physicians to obtain the information
on several occasions, the need for information in conducting the researches was reported by the
maximum number of physicians (91.9%) and the usage of information resources, especially the
electronic resources, formed 65.4% as the highest rate with regard to meeting the information
needs of the physicians. Among the electronic information databases, the maximum awareness
was related to Medline with 86.5%. Among the various electronic information resources, the highest
awareness (43.3%) was related to the E‑journals. The highest usage (36%) was also from the same
source. The studied physicians considered the most effective deterrent in the use of electronic
information resources as being too busy and lack of time. Conclusion: Despite the importance
of electronic information resources for the physician’s community, there was no comprehensive
knowledge of these resources. This can lead to less usage of these resources. Therefore, careful
planning is necessary in the hospital libraries in order to introduce the facilities and full capabilities
of the mentioned resources and methods of information retrieval.

Keywords

Educational hospitals
electronic information resources
physicians
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Journal of Education and Health Promotion
Volume 5, Issue 4
Summer 2015
Pages 1-5

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