Information use and literacy of healthcare staff at a large teaching hospital in the UK.

Abstract Background: Healthcare staff need evidence-based information to support their decisions. As library services play pivotal roles in the retrieval of scattered information and in providing information literacy training, it is important to understand how clinicians acquire information and the barriers they face during information seeking. Objectives: The aim of this study is to investigate the use of evidence-based information at a busy teaching hospital, the aspects of information seeking behaviours employed by clinicians, and the barriers faced by individual clinical professions in accessing evidence-based information. Methods: Online staff survey. Results: Data showed that evidence-based information is mainly used to support patient care and education. Information-seeking behaviours seeking behaviours varied based on how often this information was needed. The barriers varied between clinical professions, but ‘time’ was the most consistent factor. The belief of information use in practice being not part of the job role was the overwhelming factor for not using evidence-based information. Discussion: The findings are consistent with current literature and outline distinct patterns of information use and barriers to evidence-based information. Conclusion: There is a potential need for clinical libraries to provide information literacy training to healthcare assistants and support workers, nurses, and midwives, and those needs should be investigated periodically.