Information overload in healthcare: too much of a good thing?

Klerings, Irma; Weinhandl, Alexandra Stephanie; Thaler, Kylie

doi:10.1016/j.zefq.2015.06.005

Cited by 124 publications

(96 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…‘Information overload’ was another reason that prevented doctors from seeking online health care information effectively. It is quite difficult for doctors with low self‐efficacy to find the relevant information out of a flood of information available on the internet (Davies, ; Hall & Walton, ; Klerings, Weinhandl, & Thaler, ). Literature also indicates that ‘information overload’ and ‘poor information literacy skills’ may lead the clinician towards irrelevant information which may influence quality of patient care adversely (Fourie, ; Hall & Walton, ; Naeem & Bhatti, ).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measures of self‐efficacy among doctors in conducting an online search for clinical decision making

Bhatti

2020

Health Info Libraries J

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Objectives: To measure the perceived ability and level of confidence among doctors in performing the different tasks involved in conducting an online search for clinical decision making. Methods: A large-scale cross-sectional survey was conducted in 36 District Headquarter Hospitals (DHQs), 89 Tehsil Headquarter Hospitals (THQs), 293 Rural Health Centers (RHCs) and 2455 Basic Health Units (BHUs) in Punjab, Pakistan. Using a quota sampling, data were collected from 517 doctors on a set of 11 statements. The collected data were analysed statistically. Results: Of the 517 doctors, 73 (14.1%) had 'never accessed health care information online' for clinical decision making. Mean values of the doctors' response to the 11 statements ranged from 1.66 to 2.30 indicating that most of the doctors were 'not confident' in their ability to perform the tasks. Conclusion: The majority of doctors perceived themselves able to perform the different tasks involved in conducting an online search. Age and working experience were significant factors in the perception of their ability in performing the tasks. The study recommends promotional and educational activities to motivate interest, increase awareness, develop knowledge and skills for doctors to access information that would help in their clinical decision making.• The majority of the doctors in primary and secondary health care have never used any medical databases for clinical decision making and some of them have never accessed health care information online.• Doctors' age and clinical experience were significant factors to their perceived ability in performing the different tasks involved in conducting online searches.• The doctors from DHQs and THQs rated themselves as having higher level of confidence at each stage of the search process compared to doctors from other types of health care facilities.• There is a need to launch promotional and educational activities to motivate interest, increase awareness and develop knowledge and skills towards effective information access.• A thoughtful information literacy programme is key to influence the behavioural outcomes of doctors in performing the different tasks involved in conducting an online search. *Questions relating to perceived level of ability and level of confidence were not asked to those respondents who had never accessed the health care information online.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measures of self‐efficacy among doctors in conducting an online search for clinical decision making

Bhatti

2020

Health Info Libraries J

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“…More than ninety percent of typed answers came from the first three links on the search result page. Klerings, Weinhandl, and Thaler (2015) suggest that while the increasing number of online health information websites had increased the accessibility of information, selecting the correct information could become a daunting challenge, even for health professionals. Thus, it could be the case that when the participants were facing information overload, they tend to use the most convenient information available, which may contain false or misleading information.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

International Students’ Online Health Information Seeking Behavior

Dong

Branscum

Gao

2018

JIMPHE

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Sexual health is crucial to the overall health and wellbeing of international students; however, few studies about them have evaluated their health literacy and knowledge about sexually transmitted infections (STIs) prevention. This study investigated Chinese International Students’ (CIS) health literacy about STIs, focusing on their use of information online. A culturally-tailored 12-item STIs prevention survey was developed for this study, and an internet search was conducted by eight CIS. Overall, participants found correct information for the STI items in 51% of the cases (n=96). A Wilcoxon test suggested that CISs who were sexually active had lower health literacy skills than those who were not (p=0.02), and there were no significant associations between health literacy levels, acculturation, and length of stay in the United States. While limited in scope, the result from this study suggests the need for further research as well as need for education in health literacy in order to counter threats to wellbeing among sexually-active CISs.

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“…Beyond considering the particular resources used, these studies show that health care professionals lack training in searching for information and knowing where to begin a search [7][8][9]. Furthermore, although clinicians have a need for quality information, they also lack time to search, suggesting that being able to quickly access and grasp critical information can take precedence over the reliability of the information [8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. Thus, the increasing number of online resources and desire of health care professionals to quickly find information indicates a need for high-quality, reputable resources, such as the Drug Information Resources (DIR) website [2,[15][16][17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of the experiences and needs of users of a drug information resources website

Isenor

Helwig

Weale³

et al. 2020

jmla

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Objective: This article describes the evaluation of the experiences and needs of users of the Drug Information Resources (DIR) website. The DIR website attracts traffic and use from around the world with the highest users in Canada and the United States. Methods: An online questionnaire was developed through literature review and Google Analytics data. Face validity testing and test-retest reliability were completed prior to releasing the questionnaire. Results: Although the Google Analytics data showed that the site is used internationally, most respondents were Canadian students. They used the site for academic and clinical purposes and reported it was easy to use, well organized, include required resources, and would recommend it to others. Conclusion: DIR was found to be a valuable resource for educational and clinical use. Future studies will aim to obtain input from international users.

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Information overload in healthcare: too much of a good thing?

Cited by 124 publications

References 33 publications

Measures of self‐efficacy among doctors in conducting an online search for clinical decision making

Measures of self‐efficacy among doctors in conducting an online search for clinical decision making

International Students’ Online Health Information Seeking Behavior

Evaluation of the experiences and needs of users of a drug information resources website

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