Barriers to Optimal Utilization of Health Information Resources by Doctors in Nigeria

Abstract

This paper aims to report on research investigating the difficulties doctors encounter in accessing health information and strategies for countering the problems for optimal utilization of information resources. Data were gathered using structured questionnaire administered to all the 1,995 Doctors in the six teaching hospitals in South East Nigeria. The findings indicate that high cost of acquiring materials and non-conducive library environment are considered the biggest problems. Earlier studies did not investigate doctors in this zone, nor did they cover all ranks of Doctors in teaching hospital setting. This paper can be a platform for informed intervention for better healthcare delivery in the zone. It is an original research paper

Keywords:health information, information utilization, health information resources, information, medical doctors