INFORMATION NEEDS, SEEKING BEHAVIOUR AND WORK EFFECTIVENESS OF PHYSICIANS IN SELECTED GOVERNMENT HOSPITALS IN EDO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Information behaviour and work effectiveness of physicians are vital elements in the day to day practice of physicians in selected government hospitals. This study was carried out to investigate the relationship of between information need, seeking behaviour and work effectiveness of physicians in six government hospitals in Edo State. The objectives of the study include the identification of various health information needs of physicians in government hospitals, finding out their information seeking patterns and examining the level of work effectiveness. The method adopted is the survey design. A structured questionnaire was used to gather data among the respondents. Out of the 620 questionnaire administered 516 (83.2%) were retrieved. The
findings revealed that the major health information need of physicians in selected government hospitals in Edo State was information on treatment and tests of patients. The quality of work delivery in terms of commitment and individual care to patients as well as commitment to organization goals is less than satisfactory. There is a significant relationship between information needs and seeking behaviour of physicians and their work effectiveness (r =0.422; p<0.05 and r = 0.090; p<0.05), respectively. It is recommended that physicians in government hospitals in Edo State need to be more pro-active in updating themselves in general medical knowledge.