Utilization of online bibliographic databases by medical doctors in a teaching hospital in Rwanda

Abstract

Background: Online bibliographic databases are important tools in health sector for both literature research and clinical practices. They provide current scientific insight for evidence based medicine and have the potential to support clinicians by providing them with the information they need in a timely fashion. Objective: This study was carried out to assess the utilization of online bibliographic databases by medical doctors at the University Teaching Hospital of Kigali. Methods: A mixed method (quantitative and qualitative) with a crosssectional design was used. Results: The study population was composed of 153 medical doctors and response rate was 53.5 %. The results of this study indicate that the most visited online bibliographic database is the Medline at the rate of 94% (N=82). More than 92% (N=82) of physicians at this hospital have computers with internet in their offices. Only 47.6% are able to use filters when they searching information to guide treatment. Physicians at the rate of 97.6 % (N=80) have used online bibliographic databases in the past six months and 96% (N=80) were satisfied with their expectations. The constraints they face when searching information, is lack of full access to some scientific medical journals. A key informant said: "The challenge is that some medical journals provide only abstracts. In this case it is not easy for physicians to access full papers or full books to find information for patient care" Conclusion: The study concludes that physicians at University Teaching Hospital of Kigali use online bibliographic databases to guide treatment and Medline/Pubmed are the most used database. Nevertheless, there is gap in advanced searching skills among physicians. In terms of infrastructures the quality of internet bandwidth is another challenge. The study recommends continued sessions for literature search, as it is a key to practicing evidence-based medicine. It also recommends ensuring full access to scientific papers as well as good internet service delivery.

Usage Pattern of Medical Information through the <em>ClinicalKey</em> Database among Medical Professionals of the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine

“…Studies indicate that future enhancements should include university-wide online access to reputed journals and other key resources, improved computers with fast connectivity, information literacy training programs, and continued literature search sessions are key to practicing evidence-based medicine (Perera, 2015 & Journal of the University Librarians Association of Sri Lanka, Vol. 25, Issue 1, January 2022, 1-30, http://doi.org/10.4038/jula.v25i1.8051 8 Korukire, 2018). The literature further identified some of the factors affecting the utilisation of e-resources such as lack of awareness about electronic resources available in the library, insufficient IT equipment, lack of continuous training, high cost of resources, low-speed connectivity, quality of bandwidth internet, lack of time, workloads or too tight work schedules and a distinct preference for asking an expert colleague or consulting a print source had been reported as barriers to the use of online bibliographic databases (Kwadzo, 2015;Ehioghae, 2020& Alison, 2012.…”