Salman Bin Naeem

The Impact of Hospital Libraries on Patient Care and Clinical Decision-Making: A Survey of Teaching Hospitals

This article reports the results of a survey of 150 doctors working in teaching hospitals in Multan, Pakistan. The survey was undertaken to ascertain how often doctors use hospital libraries, their main reasons for using the hospital libraries, and the impact of information they received/gathered from the hospital libraries on patient care and clinical decision-making.

Use of Electronic Information Resources among Research Scholars in the Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Pakistan.

This study examined the use of electronic resources among academic scholars of The Islamia University of Bahawalpur (IUB), Punjab, Pakistan. A quantitative survey was found most convenient and useful for this study. The total population of the study was 169 research students in IUB. The response rate was 79% and 133 utilizable responses were coded and analyzed by using SPSS software. Results of the study showed that most of the researchers (61%) used electronic resources daily for many purposes and reasons. Most of them (57%) were “satisfied” with the usage of electronic resources. Learning, education, and research were the main purposes, and easy use and easy access to documents were the major reasons of using these resources. Lack of internet connection is the major problem faced by the respondents.

Barriers in seeking health information from primary healthcare facilities in Pakistan

Primary care physicians (PCPs) need a wide range of health information resources to manage their patients. The present study aimed to investigate the barriers that obstruct the health information seeking behavior of primary care physicians in Pakistan from their practice setting. A survey was carried out in 77 basic health units (BHUs), seven rural health centers (RHCs), and two tehsil headquarters (THQs) of Multan District, Pakistan. A three-part questionnaire containing participants’ demographic information, barriers in seeking health information, and required sources and services, was distributed to primary care physicians through post, email, and personal visits to participating healthcare facilities. The data was analyzed statistically using SPSS. Chi square and Kruskal Wallis tests were applied to determine if there were any significant differences in demographic information of different healthcare facilities participants, the barriers they faced in seeking health information, and the required sources and services available to them. The major barriers included: no onsite library, no health sciences librarian, scarcity of health information resources, inaccessibility of health information system, and lack of information and technological infrastructure. Consultation with seniors, improved connectivity and document delivery services were among the sources and services most required by primary care physicians. The study concluded that primary care physicians encounter multiple barriers that obstruct their health-related information seeking behavior, which compromises patient care. Medical librarians should design outreach library and information services in health sciences and health information literacy programs to overcome the barriers primary care physicians face while seeking health information from their practice settings.