Disconnected in a connected world: knowledge and understanding of Web 2.0 tools at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center.
This article outlines five Web 2.0 resources and looks at the use of these tools among medical and nursing professionals and students at the Hospital, Medical School, and Nursing School of the University of Pennsylvania. Questionnaires showed that a majority of the individuals surveyed were unfamiliar with Web 2.0 resources. Additional respondents recognized the tools but did not use them in a medical or nursing context, with a minimal number using any tools to expand their medical or nursing knowledge. A lack of time to set up and use the resources, difficulty of set-up and use, skepticism about the quality of user-generated medical content, and a lack of perceived need for Web 2.0 resources contributed substantially to non-use. The University of Pennsylvania Biomedical Library is responding by increasing the availability of basic, quick, and easy-to-use instructional materials for selected Web 2.0 resources.
Karpinski
Joanna Lynn
JL
Biomedical Library, University of Pennsylvania, 3610 Hamilton Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. karpinsj@mail.nih.gov
D000046:Academic Medical Centers; D003142:Communication; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D020407:Internet; D007993:Libraries, Medical; D010414:Pennsylvania; D012984:Software; D014584:User-Computer Interface