Transcript What Did They Do Before It Was Online?

What Did They Do Before It Was Online?
Measuring Information Seeking Behavior
of Clinicians Prior to Initiation of Access to
Electronic Resources
Barbara A. Epstein, MSLS, AHIP
Nancy H. Tannery, MLS
Charles B. Wessel, MLS
Health Sciences Library System
Cynthia S. Gadd, PhD
Center for Biomedical Informatics
University of Pittsburgh
Study Design
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Longitudinal study of the impact of access to
comprehensive electronic information in a
rural hospital setting
Survey to capture baseline data before
introduction of electronic information
resources
Track “information interventions”: training,
marketing, issuance of passwords, CME &
other projects
Re-survey periodically to discover changes in
information seeking behavior
Health Sciences Library System
University of Pittsburgh
Health Sciences Library System
(HSLS)
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Large academic library serving university’s
six health sciences schools, as well as 17
hospitals of the University of Pittsburgh
Medical Center (UPMC) located
throughout Western Pennsylvania
UPMC hospitals contract with HSLS for
access to licensed electronic resources
(HSL Online)
Health Sciences Library System
University of Pittsburgh
HSL Online
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2500+ Full-text Electronic Journals
400+ Electronic Textbooks
Micromedex, StatRef, MDConsult, Embase.com
Access Medicine, UpToDate, Science Direct,
BioMedCentral
Ovid Medline, PsycINFO, CINAHL, HealthSTAR,
AMED, EBM Reviews, CancerLit
WebMD/Scientific American Medicine, Health &
Wellness Center
And more….
Health Sciences Library System
University of Pittsburgh
UPMC Horizon
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374 beds on 2 campuses (Greenville, PA & Farrell,
PA) – rural area north of Pittsburgh
Founded in 1906; merged with UPMC in 1998
Clinical strengths in primary care and emergency
medicine, cardiology, oncology, ophthalmology,
sleep disorders, orthopedics, maternity,
rehabilitation, arthritis, chemical dependency
3 Residency programs in General Surgery, Internal
Medicine and Family Practice
No librarian or organized library!
Health Sciences Library System
University of Pittsburgh
Timeline
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July 2001
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UPMC Horizon initiates contract with HSLS for
access to HSL Online
Fall 2001
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Introduction of HSL Online at UPMC Horizon
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Training sessions & orientations
Marketing through newsletter articles & personal letters
Project team develops study design and baseline
survey
Limited pre-test of survey questions
IRB approval obtained
Health Sciences Library System
University of Pittsburgh
Baseline Survey
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Demographics: age, gender, role/specialty
Frequency of computer use
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To document or access clinical data
To communicate with colleagues
To search or read knowledge-based information
To access CME
To teach students or residents
To prepare presentations
Health Sciences Library System
University of Pittsburgh
Baseline Survey (continued)
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Frequency of Internet use at home or in
office
Use of HSL Online
In the last month, how was clinical info
obtained?
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Colleagues, library, books, journals, drug
brochures, etc.
Health Sciences Library System
University of Pittsburgh
Survey Distribution
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January 2002: baseline questionnaire
sent to 864 physicians, residents, nurses,
pharmacists, social workers and other
clinicians
Reminders sent in Feb/March 2002
407 surveys returned – 47% response rate
Largest respondent groups were
physicians (70) and nurses (212)
Health Sciences Library System
University of Pittsburgh
Computer Use & Internet Access
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55% of both physicians and nurses reported
using a computer 6 or more hours each week
83% of physicians and 77% of nurses used the
Internet
Of those accessing the Internet, more than 80%
report frequency of at least 3 times weekly
72% of physicians and 49% of nurses use the
Internet for professional tasks
Health Sciences Library System
University of Pittsburgh
Early Use of HSL Online
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19 physicians (27%) reported use of HSL
Online
17 nurses (8%) reported use of HSL
Online
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2 physicians and 1 nurse (“early adapters”?)
using HSL Online daily
100% of 6 pharmacists responding used
HSL Online, specifically Micromedex
Health Sciences Library System
University of Pittsburgh
Where Do Physicians Find
Information at Least Once/Week?
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Printed books/journals: 53%
Colleagues: 40%
Electronic discussion lists/email: 23%
Drug/Equipment brochure: 21%
Ovid Medline/PubMed: 16%
Pocket handbook: 11%
Course/Conference: 7%
Health Sciences Library System
University of Pittsburgh
Where Do Nurses Find Clinical
Information at Least Once/Week?
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Colleagues: 36%
Printed books/journals: 17%
Electronic discussion lists/email: 13%
Drug/Equipment brochure: 11%
Pocket handbook: 8%
Course/Conference: 1%
Ovid Medline/PubMed: 0.4% (1 person)
Health Sciences Library System
University of Pittsburgh
Comparative Snapshot
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Internet use is for professional tasks is
higher among physicians than nurses
Physicians and nurses, without access to
electronic resources, use colleagues, print
textbooks and journals to satisfy
information needs
Health Sciences Library System
University of Pittsburgh
Next Steps
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Extensive training sessions, marketing,
publicity about HSL Online
Planned online physician CME project
using full-text electronic journal articles
Follow-up survey sent in January 2003 to
measure penetration of HSL Online use,
and impact on clinical information-seeking
behavior; data being analyzed
Health Sciences Library System
University of Pittsburgh