Objectives: To determine the extent, purpose, determinants and the impact of the utilization of Internet medical databases among the respondents. Methodology: A descriptive cross sectional survey of 540 randomly selected physicians at the two tertiary health institutions in Osun State, South west, Nigeria. Result: A total of 444 (82.2%) physicians completed the questionnaires. All the respondents have used the internet medical databases within the last 4 weeks of the study. Majority, (53.8%) used the internet resources at least once in 2 weeks, while 12.2% used the resources every day. The online resources are mainly sought for Routine patient care and for Research purposes. PUBMED (70.3%), HINARI (69.0%), and Free medical journals (60.1%) are the frequently used online databases ⁄ digital archives. The internet resources has positively impacted the Clinical practice (40.0%) and Research output (65.5%) of the physicians. Conclusion: There had been considerable increase in the extent and quality of utilization of online medical databases which has positively impacted on the Clinical practice and Research output of the physicians. Ease of finding the needed information and the availability of evidence based resources are the major determinants of the databases utilized.Keywords: determinants of internet use, information seeking behavior, information source, internet use, online medical database, physicians in Nigeria. Key messagesImplications for the Practice d The medical librarian should create awareness of Internet medical databases and make the password available to doctors. d The medical librarian should have an up to date profile of all the doctors to facilitate the selective dissemination of information (SDI). d There should be effective collaboration with senior medical faculty to find out their current research interests and send regular updates via e-mail. d The medical librarian should organise in-house workshops where information literacy skills are taught using tested models such as the Big six approach. This will reduce time and effort in accessing timely and relevant medical information for patient care. Implication for Policyd Internet access should be provided in all Consulting rooms to encourage Evidence-Based Medical practice and expand the scope and productivity of physicians.

Lassa fever had been reported as a cause of death especially in endemic parts of Nigeria. This study assessed the knowledge, attitude, and practices toward Lassa fever control and prevention among residents of Ile-Ife, southwest Nigeria. Descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among consenting randomly selected adults using an interviewer administered questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. A total of 400 questionnaires with completed data were analyzed (response rate 96%). Majority, 207 (51.8%), were males while 193 (48.2%) were females. Most, 234 (58.5%), had tertiary education while 148 (37%) had secondary education. Fifty-nine percent had heard of Lassa fever with radio as their major source of information. About 76% had inadequate knowledge, 54% had negative attitude while 51% had poor practice toward Lassa fever. Determinants of knowledge of Lassa fever include having higher education (Adjusted Odd Ratio (AOR) = 11.49, 95% CI [3.10, 42.69], p = .0001), being in civil service (AOR = 0.22, 95% CI [0.09, 0.51], p = .01), and earning higher income (AOR = 4.23, 95% CI [2.61, 6.84], p = .0001). In conclusion, the knowledge, attitude, as well as preventive practices to Lassa fever were poor. It is necessary to increase public education and improve hygienic practices.

Breast cancer is the most common female malignancy linked with high levels of morbidity and mortality in developing countries due to delayed diagnosis. This research assessed the knowledge of signs and risk factors of breast cancer and practice of self breast examination (SBE) among female nurses in a rural tertiary Hospital. Eighty-five nurses ages 20 to 60 years were sampled by simple randomization over a period of eight weeks through a self-administered semi-structured questionnaire. The analysis was done using statistical package for social science version 17. Sixteen (15.3%) nurses had adequate knowledge of breast cancer, having a relative with breast cancer (51.8%) and a woman of any age (56.5%) were recognized by majority as risk factors for breast cancer. Majority (68.2%) were not practicing monthly SBE and not confident on how to do it. This study pointed out the gaps in the knowledge and awareness of breast cancer and practice of SBE among the nurses. Opportunity should therefore be sought in various health facilities to educate nurses who are supposed to be closer to the patients.

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