Table 1 Medical knowledge seeking practices of the sample (n 86)
Variable | Number | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
Primary source of reference for medical information | ||
Textbooks | 32 | 37.2 |
Online sources (other than textbooks and guidelines) | 26 | 30.2 |
Guidelines | 19 | 22.1 |
Expert opinion | 8 | 9.3 |
Peer opinion | 1 | 1.2 |
Most preferred online source for daily medical practice | ||
Google searching | 19 | 22.1 |
Google scholar | 8 | 9.3 |
Wikipedia | 8 | 9.3 |
Uptodate | 22 | 25.6 |
Emedicine | 36 | 41.9 |
Blogs | 3 | 3.5 |
Other | 1 | 1.2 |
Ever having accessed one of the following indexing services/databases for evidence based knowledge or research | ||
PubMed | 76 | 88.4 |
Cochrane library | 34 | 39.5 |
Scopus | 3 | 3.5 |
EMBASE | 4 | 4.7 |
Web of science | 5 | 5.8 |
HINARI | 67 | 77.9 |
Familiarity with systematic reviews | ||
Yes | 52 | 60.5 |
No | 10 | 11.6 |
Unclear | 24 | 27.9 |
Familiarity with narrative reviews | ||
Yes | 12 | 14.0 |
No | 54 | 62.8 |
Unclear | 20 | 23.2 |
Familiarity with meta-analysis | ||
Yes | 50 | 58.1 |
No | 3 | 3.5 |
Unclear | 23 | 26.7 |
Correctly identified the difference between a systematic review and a meta-analysis | 5 | 5.8 |
Unfamiliar with Cochrane reviews | 21 | 24.4 |
Having ever read a Cochrane systematic review | 37 | 43.0 |
Active involvement with Cochrane collaboration | 1 | 1.2 |
Having ever read any review either systematic or narrative | 52 | 60.5 |
Having authorship in a systematic or a narrative review | 1 | 1.2 |
Respondents perception of a reference source for best evidence | ||
Guidelines | 7 | 8.1 |
Journal articles accessed through indexing services | 29 | 33.7 |
Cochrane reviews | 6 | 7.0 |
Google scholar | 5 | 5.8 |
Expert opinion | 1 | 1.2 |
UpToDate | 12 | 14.0 |
Medscape/eMedicine | 6 | 7.0 |
Textbooks | 5 | 5.8 |
Other/not answered | 10 | 11.6 |