Recent research studies describe typical information-seeking behavior of doctors, nurses, and other health care providers. This review identifies and analyzes thirty-nine studies and nine reviews published since 1990. The researchers are from many disciplines and often work in multi-disciplinary teams. They have used both quantitative and qualitative methods to gather self-report and observational data. In spite of the increased availability of online bibliographic and full-text sources in this decade, health care providers are using the same sources they used twenty years ago. Self-report studies usually show a higher use of published literature than of advice from colleagues; observational studies usually show the opposite.
Purpose -Critical care nurses' work is rich in informative interactions. Although there have been post-hoc self report studies of nurses' information seeking, there have been no observational studies of the patterns of their on-duty information behavior. This paper seeks to address this issue. Design/methodology/approach -This study used participant observation and in context interviews to describe 50 hours of the observable information behavior of a representative sample of critical care nurses in a 20-bed critical care unit of a community (non-teaching) hospital. The researcher used open, in vivo and axial coding to develop a grounded theory model of their consistent pattern of multimedia interactions. Findings -The resulting Nurse's Patient-Chart Cycle describes their activities during the shift as centering on a regular alternation between interactions with the patient and with the patient's chart (in various record systems), clearly bounded with nursing "report" interactions at the beginning and the end of the shift. The nurses' demeanor markedly changed between interactions with the chart and interactions with the patient. Their attention was focused on patient-specific information. They had almost no time or opportunity to consult published sources of information while on duty. Originality/value -Libraries often provide nurses with information services that are based on academic models of information behavior. Clinical information systems are designed more for medico-legal record keeping than for nursing care. Understanding the reality of nurses' on-duty information behavior may guide librarians and systems designers in the provision of more appropriate systems and services.
Reliable and timely professional information services are always important, but even more so during a community-wide disaster, like the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. There are classes and literature on planning for library collection protection in local emergencies, but little about planning for reference and information services. Four accounts from South Louisiana in September of 2005 demonstrate the value of proactive and innovative services based on professional information needs analysis skills. More study of such cases could lead to the development of best practice guidelines for the planning and provision of disaster information services.
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