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Published:
Jul 18, 2018DOI:
10.4314/rjmhs.v1i1.3Keywords:
Article Details
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Main Article Content
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.
Keywords: Online bibliographic databases, medical doctors
