Utilization, accessibility, and availability of circulars at the office of the Provincial Directorate of Health Services, Western Province

Abstract

Information-seeking behavior and information utilization are two vital concepts that can be assessed to measure the usage of circulars and guidelines in organizations. Information accessibility and availability are two main components of information utilization. This descriptive cross-sectional study assesses the utilization, accessibility, and availability of circulars among senior and middle-level managers of the PDHS office in Western Province. Senior and middle-level managers constituted the study population. Quantitative method was utilized in achieving the objectives. Respondents were assessed through pre-validated questionnaires on the variables of information utilization and case scenario-basedmodel. Accordingly, it was identified that the awareness and capability of information utilization in their daily routines were high among senior and middle-level managers (over 3). The overall performance in the case scenarios was very low (average of 22). Although the most preferred mode of keeping information was the circular file, the majority were in the belief that an alternative method to improve availability and accessibility is useful in improving information utilization in decision-making.