The impact of information use on decision making by physiotherapists

Abstract

Presents and discusses the findings of a study of the impact of the use of library services and information by physiotherapists on their decision making for patient care. A postal questionnaire was distributed to the staff of each physiotherapy department in 37 National Health Service Trust hospitals in the Northern and Yorkshire region. The methodology for the study was that used in previous studies undertaken in the USA. The “critical incident” technique was used in order to pinpoint a particular situation when a need for information, connected with patient care, had caused the respondent to seek help. The respondent was asked to pose the enquiry at their hospital library and information service point and complete a questionnaire to record the success and speed of their enquiry, and to evaluate the impact of the information on their decisions relating to patient care.