title: Strategy of health information seeking among physicians, medical residents, and students after introducing digital library and information technology in teaching hospitals of Iran.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  It is important for physicians, medical students and health care organizations of developing countries to use reliable clinical information in order to deliver the best practice. Therefore, health sector of Iran endeavored to encourage physicians and medical students to integrate research findings into practice since 2005. Several educational interventions in the areas of information technology and databases were performed. Digital library was introduced in the teaching hospitals. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether these interventions increased the use of evidence-based health information resources among physicians, medical residents and students.
  
  
  METHODS
  This descriptive study involved 315 physicians, assistants and medical students in affiliated hospitals of Semnan University of medical sciences in 2013.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total 52.9% of physicians and 79.5% of medical residents and students always used patient data. 81.3% of physicians and 67.1% of medical residents and students reported using their own experiences, 26.5% of physicians and 16.9% of medical residents and students always used databases such as PubMed and MEDLINE for patient care.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results revealed that in spite of providing educational and technical infrastructures for accomplishment of research utilization in medical education, the study subjects often identified and used what they regarded as reliable and relevant information from sources that do not truly represent the best evidence that is available.
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Social Determinants of Health, Health Information Management Department, Nursing and Allied Health Faculty, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran.
authors.forename: Mehdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: kahouei
authors.affiliation: Surgery and Anesthesia Department, Nursing and Allied Health Faculty, Semnan University of Medical sciences, Semnan, Iran.
authors.forename: Safollah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Alaei
authors.affiliation: Health information Management Department, Nursing and Allied Health Faculty, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran.
authors.forename: Sohaila Sadat Ghazavi
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Shariat Panahi
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran.
authors.forename: Jamileh Mahdi
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Zadeh
mesh_terms: D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D003906:Developing Countries; D004501:Education, Medical / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D057226:Information Seeking Behavior; D007492:Iran; D046609:Libraries, Digital; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Digital library; health information; information technology; medical student; physicians; seeking; strategy