Challenges of the Presence and Absence of Clinical Librarians in the Use of Evidence-Based Medicine in Clinical Departments

Abstract

Due to the rapid growth of information technology and medical information resources, medical personnel need to search and retrieve valid and updated information. However, with limited time to access these resources, there is a need for clinical librarians to connect medical staff to evidence-based medicine (EBM). The present study was conducted to identify the challenges in the absence and the benefits of the presence of clinical librarians in the application of EBM in clinical departments. Ten clinical physicians working at Children’s Medical Center Hospital in Tehran, Iran were interviewed for this qualitative study. Most of the hospital-based physicians did not make any systematic use of EBM and seven were not familiar with the term “clinical librarian.” In their opinion, the clinical librarians’ activities included training the clinical and research teams, providing them with the required information, and providing an EBM-oriented approach to morning report and educational rounds. Therefore, the services delivered by clinical librarians in various hospital departments might positively influence the hospital-based physicians’ information-seeking behavior.

Keywords:

• Clinical librarian
• evidence-based medicine
• information behavior

Acknowledgments

This study is part of a thesis entitled “The role of clinical librarian in improving the clinical decision-making process in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit in Tehran Children’s Medical Center Hospital” affiliated with Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran in Master’s Degree (Code of ethics: IR.TUMS.VCR.REC.1397.466).

Data availability statement

The de-identified datasets and supporting files are available in the Figshare at https://figshare.com/articles/interview_data/12477251.

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by Tehran University of Medical Sciences and Health Services (Grant ID 97-02-66-39576).

Notes on contributors

Farzaneh Habibi

Farzaneh Habibi, MSc ([email protected]) is from the Medical Library and Information Sciences Department, The School of Allied Medical Sciences at Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, Iran.

Fatemeh Sheikhshoaei

Fatemeh Sheikhshoaei ([email protected]) is an Associate Professor in the Medical Library and Information Sciences Department, The School of Allied Medical Sciences at Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, Iran.

Masoud Mohammadpour

Masoud Mohammadpour ([email protected]) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Children Medical Center Hospital at Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, Iran.

Seyed Javad Ghazi Mirsaeid

Seyed Javad Ghazi Mirsaeid ([email protected]) is an Associate Professor in the Medical Library and Information Sciences Department, The School of Allied Medical Sciences at Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, Iran.

Parvaneh Modiramani

Parvaneh Modiramani ([email protected]) is a Manager of Medical Information and Scientific Resources in the Central Library at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in Mashhad, Iran.