Information-searching behaviors of main and allied health professionals: a nationwide survey in Taiwan

Rationale, aims and objectives There are a variety of resources to obtain health information, but few studies have examined if main and allied health professionals prefer different methods. The current study was to investigate their information‐searching behaviours. Methods A constructed questionnaire survey was conducted from January through April 2011 in nationwide regional hospitals of Taiwan. Questionnaires were mailed to main professionals (physicians and nurses) and allied professionals (pharmacists, physical therapists, technicians and others), with 6160 valid returns collected. Results Among all professional groups, the most commonly used resource for seeking health information was a Web portal, followed by colleague consultations and continuing education. Physicians more often accessed Internet‐based professional resources (online databases, electronic journals and electronic books) than the other groups (P