HEALTH INFORMATION SEEKING BEHAVIOUR AND NEEDS OF GRASS ROOT HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS IN NORTHERN CITY OF INDIA
Free universal access to information for healthcare providers is a need to achieve Health for All. Providing access to reliable information for healthcare workers in developing countries is potentially the most cost-effective strategy for improving the quality of healthcare delivery.So the present study was conducted to ascertain the health information seeking behaviour and needs of basic level healthcare workers in Chandigarh.
METHODS:
A cross-sectional study was conducted among 150 Anganwadi Workers (AWW) and Auxillary Nurse Midwives (ANM) in November-December, 2013.Pretested self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data on information seeking behaviour, needs, attitudes and access to internet. Data analysis was done using SPSS-16. Descriptive statistics and chi square test was used to analyze the study variables.
RESULTS:
Majority of the respondents (92%) acknowledged the need of health information in their daily routine. Most preferred source for health information was Trainings/Workshops (80%) followed by communication with seniors/colleagues (12%) and television (8%). Majority (95%) preferred print format in local language. Only 20% have access to internet sources.75% had encountered information gaps on their work due to lack of information. Important barriers to access of information were technical language, lack of practical information and time. Age, educational status and computer literacy were found to be significantly associated with health information seeking behaviour.(p<0.05).
CONCLUSIONS:
Health information seeking among grass root workers is passive rather than active. Efforts are needed to provide grass root healthcare workers with necessary health information resources and infrastructure that provide quality health care to a large segment of population.