@Article{info:doi/10.2196/30687,
author="Muhamad, Nor Asiah
and Selvarajah, Vinesha
and Dharmaratne, Anuja
and Inthiran, Anushia
and Mohd Dali, Nor Soleha
and Chaiyakunapruk, Nathorn
and Lai, Nai Ming",
title="Online Searching as a Practice for Evidence-Based Medicine in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, University of Malaya Medical Center, Malaysia: Cross-sectional Study",
journal="JMIR Form Res",
year="2022",
month="Apr",
day="6",
volume="6",
number="4",
pages="e30687",
keywords="evidence-based practice; online information searching; information retrieval; information seeking; clinical setting",
abstract="Background: The use of the internet for research is essential in the practice of evidence-based medicine. The online search habits of medical practitioners in clinical settings, particularly from direct observation, have received little attention. Objective: The goal of the research is to explore online searching for information as an evidence-based practice among medical practitioners. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the clinical teams' use of evidence-based practice when making clinical decisions for their patients' care. Data were collected through online searches from 2015 to 2018.  Participants were medical practitioners and medical students in a Malaysian public teaching hospital's neonatal intensive care unit who performed online searches to find answers to clinical questions that arose during ward rounds. Results: In search sessions conducted by the participants, 311 queries were observed from 2015 to 2018. Most participants (34/47, 72{\%}) were house officers and medical students. Most of the searches were conducted by house officers (51/99, 52{\%}) and medical students (32/99, 32{\%}). Most searches (70/99, 71{\%}) were directed rather than self-initiated, and 90{\%} (89/99) were completed individually rather than collaboratively. Participants entered an average of 4 terms in each query; three-quarters of the queries yielded relevant evidence, with two-thirds yielding more than one relevant source of evidence. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that junior doctors and medical students need more training in evidence-based medicine skills such as clinical question formulation and online search techniques for performing independent online searches effectively. However, because the findings were based on intermittent opportunistic observations in a specific clinical setting, they may not be generalizable. ",
issn="2561-326X",
doi="10.2196/30687",
url="https://formative.jmir.org/2022/4/e30687",
url="https://doi.org/10.2196/30687",
url="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35384844"
}