Premium
Learning from research on the information behaviour of healthcare professionals: a review of the literature 2004–2008 with a focus on emotion
Author(s) -
Fourie Ina
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
health information and libraries journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.779
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1471-1842
pISSN - 1471-1834
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-1842.2009.00860.x
Subject(s) - psycinfo , information literacy , medline , health care , information needs , information seeking , coping (psychology) , grey literature , information seeking behavior , psychology , health literacy , medical education , applied psychology , knowledge management , computer science , medicine , world wide web , library science , clinical psychology , political science , law , economics , economic growth
Objective: A review, focusing on emotion, was conducted of reported studies on the information behaviour of healthcare professionals (2004–2008). Findings were intended to offer guidelines on information services and information literacy training, to note gaps in research and to raise research interest. Method: Databases were searched for literature published from January 2004 to December 2008 and indexed on eric , Library and Information Science Abstracts, medline , P syc INFO, Social Services Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts, Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition; Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts; Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection; Social Work Abstracts; S oc INDEX with Full Text; SPORTD iscus ; cinhal ; and the ISI Web of Knowledge databases. Key journals were manually scanned and citations followed. Literature was included if reporting on issues concerning emotion. Results: Emotion in information behaviour in healthcare contexts is scantily addressed. This review, however, offers some insight into the difficulty in identifying and expressing information needs; sense making and the need to fill knowledge gaps; uncertainty; personality and coping skills; motivation to seeking information; emotional experiences during information seeking; self‐confidence and attitude; emotional factors in the selection of information channels; and seeking information for psychological or emotional reasons. Conclusion: Suggestions following findings, address information literacy programs, information services and research gaps.