Clinical information seeking in traumatic brain injury: a survey of Veterans Health Administration polytrauma care team members Journal Article

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Authors: Hogan, T.; Martinez, R.; Evans, C; Saban, K; Proescher, E.; Steiner, M.; Smith, B
Article Title: Clinical information seeking in traumatic brain injury: a survey of Veterans Health Administration polytrauma care team members
Abstract: BACKGROUND: The polytraumatic nature of traumatic brain injury (TBI) makes diagnosis and treatment difficult. OBJECTIVES: To (1) characterise information needs among Veterans Health Administration (VHA) polytrauma care team members engaged in the diagnosis and treatment of TBI; (2) identify sources used for TBI related information; and (3) identify barriers to accessing TBI related information. METHODS: Cross-sectional online survey of 236 VHA polytrauma care team members. RESULTS: Most respondents (95.8%) keep at least somewhat current regarding TBI, but 31.5% need more knowledge on diagnosing TBI and 51.3% need more knowledge on treating TBI. Respondents use VHA affiliated sources for information, including local colleagues (81.7%), VHA offsite conferences/meetings (78.3%) and onsite VHA educational offerings (73.6%); however, limited time due to administrative responsibilities (50.9%), limited financial resources (50.4%) and patient care (50.4%) were prominent barriers. DISCUSSION: Medical librarians are in a unique position to develop information services, resources and other electronic tools that reflect the clinical context in which polytrauma care team members practice, and the different tasks they perform. CONCLUSION: Polytrauma care team members could benefit from additional information regarding the diagnosis and treatment of TBI. Addressing their information needs and supporting their information seeking requires a mulit-pronged approach to time and financial constraints.
Journal Title: Health information and libraries journal
Volume: 35
Issue: 1
ISSN: 1471-1842; 1471-1834
Publisher: . This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA  
Journal Place: England
Date Published: 2018
Start Page: 38
End Page: 49
Language: eng
DOI/URL:

10.1111/hir.12203
Notes: LR: 20180223; CI: Published 2017; JID: 100970070; OTO: NOTNLM; 2017/01/31 00:00 [received]; 2017/11/12 00:00 [accepted]; 2017/12/13 06:00 [pubmed]; 2017/12/13 06:00 [medline]; 2017/12/13 06:00 [entrez]; ppublish