JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Online searching is integral in the practice of evidence-based medicine. The online search practice of medical practitioners in clinical settings, especially from direct observation, has not been studied extensively.

Objective:

To explore online information seeking behavior of evidence-based medicine practitioners.

Methods:

We evaluated the pattern and effectiveness of online searching by clinical practitioners in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of a public teaching hospital in Malaysia. The participants consisted of medical practitioners and medical students who performed online searches to seek answers to the clinical questions that arose from the ward rounds. We collected data via intermittent direct observation of real-time online searches from 2015 to 2018.

Results:

A total of 311 queries were observed in 99 search sessions performed by 47 participants. The majority of the participants (N=34; 72.3%) were medical students and house officers. Searches were performed predominantly by house officers (N=51; 51.5%) and medical students (N=32; 32.3%). The vast majority of the searches (N=70; 70.7%) were instructed as opposed to self-initiated, and 89 (89.9%) were performed individually as opposed to collaboratively. The participants keyed in an average of four terms in every query, and 77% of the queries resulted in the retrieval of relevant evidence, while 65% yielded more than one relevant source of evidence.

Conclusions:

Our findings indicate a training need for junior doctors and medical students in evidence-based medicine skills including clinical question formulation and online search techniques for an effective performance of independent online searches. However, the findings may not be generalizable as they were based on intermittent opportunistic observations in a specific clinical setting.