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BackgroundUniversal access to information for health professionals is a need to achieve “health for all strategy.” A large proportion of the population including health professionals have limited access to health information in resource limited countries. The aim of this study is to assess information needs among Ethiopian health professionals.MethodsA cross sectional quantitative study design complemented with qualitative method was conducted among 350 health care workers in Feburary26-June5/2012. Pretested self-administered questionnaire and observation checklist were used to collect data on different variables. Data entry and data analysis were done using Epi-Info version 3.5.1 and by SPSS version19, respectively. Descriptive statistics and multivariate regression analyses were applied to describe study objectives and identify the determinants of information seeking behaviours respectively. Odds ratio with 95% CI was used to assess the association between a factor and an outcome variable.ResultsThe majority of the respondents acknowledged the need of health information to their routine activities. About 54.0% of respondents lacked access to health information. Only 42.8% of respondents have access to internet sources. Important barriers to access information were geographical, organizational, personal, economic, educational status and time. About 58.0% of the respondents accessed information by referring their hard copies and asking senior staff. Age, sex, income, computer literacy and access, patient size, work experience and working site were significantly associated with information needs and seeking behaviour.ConclusionsThe health information seeking behaviour of health professional was significant. The heaklth facilities had neither informationcenter such as library, nor internet facilities. Conducting training on managing health information, accessing computer and improving infrastructures are important interventions to facilitate evidence based descions.

Focuses on the information needs of users that are changing as a result of changes in the availability of information content in electronic form. In the course of the discussion, the paper first highlights the trend and nature of the physical form in which information content is currently being made available for users’ access and use in electronic information environments. It then attempts to determine why the prevailing information needs of users are coming into being and how they are shaped in electronic information environments. Finally, makes suggestions regarding how to go about identifying and meeting the prevailing needs in electronic information.

Based largely on a study of the literature, this article outlines the nature and purposes of performance evaluation in library and Information Systems in general. It further delineates the Information scenario of developing countries and pinpoints the specific issues that performance evaluätion could address in the library and Information Systems of these countries. It then raises the challenges that the library and Information Systems of developing countries face in conducting performance evaluätion to achieve the expected benefits from it. The article identifies the following stumbling blocks: lack of awareness, cost of conducting the evaluation, shortage of staff and lack of methods and tools to employ for the purpose. Methodological problems are identified äs important. It concludes that the library and Information Systems in these countries have to develpp their own methods and tools appropriate to their needs and relevant to their environment. It further discusses key issues in the development of the required framework such äs assessing the environment and identifying what is important from the point of view of the System for the evaluätion effort to focus on. The means of generating data usable for performance assessment and training äs a means of improving the staff shortage and absence of awareness of the role of performance evaluätion to address among the other challenges.

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