%0 Journal Article
%@ 2561-326X
%I JMIR Publications
%V 6
%N 4
%P e30687
%T Online Searching as a Practice for Evidence-Based Medicine in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, University of Malaya Medical Center, Malaysia: Cross-sectional Study
%A Muhamad,Nor Asiah
%A Selvarajah,Vinesha
%A Dharmaratne,Anuja
%A Inthiran,Anushia
%A Mohd Dali,Nor Soleha
%A Chaiyakunapruk,Nathorn
%A Lai,Nai Ming
%+ Sector for Evidence-Based Healthcare, National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health, Block A, Level 5, Jalan Setia Murni U13/52, Setia Alam, Section U13, Shah Alam, 40170, Malaysia, 60 03 3362 8888 ext 8705, norasiahdr@gmail.com
%K evidence-based practice
%K online information searching
%K information retrieval
%K information seeking
%K clinical setting
%D 2022
%7 6.4.2022
%9 Original Paper
%J JMIR Form Res
%G English
%X 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. 
%M 35384844
%R 10.2196/30687
%U https://formative.jmir.org/2022/4/e30687
%U https://doi.org/10.2196/30687
%U http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35384844