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Information resource preferences by general pediatricians in office settings: a qualitative study
George R Kim1, Edward L Bartlett, Harold P Lehmann
1Division of Health Sciences Informatics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. georkim@pol.net
BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making
|October 18, 2005
Summary
Office-based pediatricians prefer colleagues and texts for information, not evidence-based reviews. Their information needs focus on patient-specific diagnoses and general medical guidelines, especially for genetics and infectious diseases.
Area of Science:
- Medical Informatics
- Pediatric Practice
- Information Science
Background:
- Information needs of office-based general pediatricians are not well-defined.
- Understanding resource preferences is crucial for improving clinical decision-making.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize the information needs and resource preferences of office-based general pediatricians.
- To explore how pediatricians utilize information resources for cases in Genetics and Infectious Diseases.
Main Methods:
- A mixed-methods approach involving demographic surveys and semi-structured interviews with 20 pediatricians.
- Content analysis of interview data to identify perceived information needs and preferred resources in response to clinical vignettes.
Main Results:
- Pediatricians prefer colleagues, texts, drug formularies, and government/professional websites over evidence-based reviews or librarians.
- Information needs included patient-specific diagnoses and general medical guidelines for Genetics and Infectious Diseases.
- Preferred resources for these cases included specialists, textbooks, colleagues, and organizational websites.
Conclusions:
- Qualitative analysis reveals pediatrician information needs and resource preferences for specialized cases.
- This approach offers insights into practitioner information-seeking behaviors in specific clinical contexts.