1. Information Seeking Behaviors of Local Public Health Practitioners: A Case Study from a Kentucky Health Department Robert M Shapiro, MALS; Alex F Howard, MPH ATC; Zachary G Young, MSLS; Richard C Ingram, MEd Midwest Chapter MLA/ WHSLA September 24-28, 2010

3. What is PHS(S)R Public Health Systems and Services Research Public Health Services and Systems Research Public Health Systems Research

4. …is a field of study that examines the organization, financing, and delivery of public health services within communities, and the impact of these services on public health.

5. Policy Makers PractitionersResearchers

6. Methods Development of survey – Face validity established by both LIS and Public Health professionals IRB approval Kentucky Health Department Directors meeting

7. Methods Survey sent to Directors with instructions to forward the survey link to all FTEs Directors received a thank you/reminder after 2 weeks; the survey link closed after 3 weeks

8. Results 114 responses (n~5,000) 50% from one health department New “n” of 57, representing 79% of FTEs  31 non-clinical (54%)  26 clinical (46%)

9. Results - Demographics Age*ClinicalNon-clinicalCumulative 18-251 (2%) 4% 26-358 (15%) 30% 36-457 (13%) 26% 46+12 (22%)10 (19%)40% *3 missing Sex*ClinicalNon-clinical Male07 (13%) Female26 (48%)21 (39%) *3 missing

10. Results - Demographics Highest Educational Attainment* ClinicalNon-clinicalCumulative High School2 (4%)10 (19%)22% Some College2 (4%) 7% Associates Degree15 (28%)3 (6%)33% Bachelor+7 (13%)13 (24%)38% Length at current position* ClinicalNon-clinicalCumulative Less than 1 year3 (6%) 11% 1 – 3 years9 (17%)3 (6%)22% 3 – 10 Years8 (15%)15 (28%)43% 11+ years6 (11%)7 (13%)24% *3 missing

11. Results – How often How oftenClinicalNon-clinicalCumulative Never1 (2%)3 (5%)7% Almost Never3 (5%)6 (11%)16% Monthly10 (18%)6 (11%)29% Weekly3 (5%)9 (16%)21% Daily9 (16%)6 (11%)27%

12. Results - Need to seek information ReasonClinicalNon-clinicalCumulative Clinical Services11 (19%)5 (8%)28% Design a new program 3 (5%)2 (4%)9% Formulate Policy or design protocol 2 (4%)5 (9%)12% Fulfill a request by a supervisor 5 (9%)10 (18%)26% No Need1 (2%)4 (7%)9% Other4 (7%)5 (9%)16%

13. Results – Frequency of use Article Databases (eg: PubMed, ERIC, Web of Science)* ClinicalNon-clinicalCumulative Never7 (13%)9 (16%)29% Almost Never6 (11%)10 (18%)29% Monthly9 (16%)8 (14%)31% Weekly1 (2%)3 (5%)7% Daily2 (4%)04% *2 missing

14. Results – Frequency of use Colleagues*ClinicalNon-clinicalCumulative Never1 (2%) 4% Almost Never2 (4%)3 (5%)9% Monthly4 (7%) 15% Weekly5 (9%)10 (18%)27% Daily14 (25%)11 (20%)45% *2 missing

15. Results – Frequency of use Web Search Engines (eg: Google, Yahoo, AltaVista)* ClinicalNon-clinicalCumulative Never4 (7%)3 (5%)13% Almost Never1 (2%)5 (9%)11% Monthly1 (2%)4 (7%)9% Weekly9 (16%)8 (14%)30% Daily11 (20%)10 (18%)38% *1 missing

16. Results – Making decisions Resource*ClinicalNon-clinicalCumulative Colleagues26 91% Other HDs151858% Journal articles71421% Grey literature215% Books5823% Statistics Databases4618% Listservs6316% Online Discussion Boards 012% Nat’l Org. Websites131142% *Only positive responses reported

17. Results – Web 2.0 Resource*ClinicalNon-clinicalCumulative Social networking sites 419% Blogs137% Wikis112% RSS Feeds102% YouTube and other videos sharing websites 239% Twitter and other microblogging sites 024% Flickr and other photo sharing sites 024% None212479% *Only positive responses reported

18. Results – Public health problems Resources*ClinicalNon-clinicalCumulative CDC211970% Kentucky DOH232584% Kentucky IOM5314% NIH6114% NLM102% *Only positive responses reported

19. Results - Barriers Barrier*ClinicalNon-clinicalCumulative Cost8625% Type of Media7216% Knowledge of Available Resources 131244% Lack of Resources (eg: computer equipment, internet access, or library affiliation) 5314% Searching Skills12428% Time Limitations15942% None4719% *Only positive responses reported

20. Discussion How to be their colleagues? – (Models like ATTRACT and NLH) How to make them aware of available resources? Further support for tailored information based on roles Rethink the effectiveness of Web 2.0 in facilitating communicaiton

21. Thanks! Questions? shapiro.rm@uky.edu