Information Use Behavior of Clinicians in Evidence-Based Medicine Process in Thailand(cid:31)
Somrux Sahapong MA*, Lampang Manmart PhD*, Dusadee Ayuvat PhD*, Somkiat Potisat MD**
Affiliation : (cid:31) Part of a thesis entitle: Role and competencies of medical information professionals in evidence-based medicine. PhD in Information Studies Program, Khon Kaen University, Thailand. * Department of Humanities & Social Sciences, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand ** Department of Medical Service, Ministry of Public Health, Nonthaburi, Thailand
Objective : To investigate the information-use behavior of Thai clinicians in the evidence-based medicine
(EBM) process.
Material and Method: Based on the survey research, 198 questionnaires were sent to EBM clinicians working
in public hospitals in Thailand. The data were analyzed by mean, percentage, and factor analysis.
Results : One hundred and fifty-seven questionnaires (79.3%) were returned. The results revealed that 52.9%
of the clinicians used EBM process in clinical practice at a high level and 41.4% at a moderate level. Most
respondents (91.7%) used information for supporting their teaching and learning process as well as for
professional self-development. About two-third used information for supporting their clinical decision. The
types of information that the clinicians used in high percentage were research articles from medical journals
(89.7%), systematic reviews (83.4%), textbooks, and reference books in the medical field (80.8%). The
information resources that were often used including Internet resources (84.1%), hospital or medical school
libraries (73.7%), expert consultation (59.8%), and the medical record unit (41.9%). Most of the respondents
(89.7%) used PubMed, search engine (85.6%) and Cochrane Library (56.4%) as the tools for accessing
information. Most respondents frequently had accessed to information 2-3 days a week and 93.7% of them
preferred to access information resources via the Internet by themselves at their office or home. For searching
strategies, most clinicians used key words (95%). In the present study, 20 variables were designed to test the
factors correlated with the clinicians’ information use. The results showed that the six variables (information
use, EBM use, experience, organization, competency, and educational background) were significantly
correlated with information used by clinicians in EBM process.
Conclusion : Most Thai clinicians in the present study used EBM process. They regularly searched information
by themselves with simple strategy. The results of the present study could be used for planning to improve the
quality of clinicians in EBM practice. Since information use is important in using EBM, all hospitals should
have adequate facilities to provide medical information for clinical practice. Relevant data from the present
study may be useful for planning the use of EBM process and to further researches.
Keywords : Evidence-based medicine, EBM, Medical information-seeking behavior, Clinician information use
