J Med Libr Assoc. 2013 Jan;101(1):32-7. doi: 10.3163/1536-5050.101.1.006.
The research determined (1) the information sources that family physicians (FPs) most commonly use to update their general medical knowledge and to make specific clinical decisions, and (2) the information sources FPs found to be most physically accessible, intellectually accessible (easy to understand), reliable (trustworthy), and relevant to their needs.
A cross-sectional postal survey of 792 FPs and locum tenens, in full-time or part-time medical practice, currently practicing or on leave of absence in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan was conducted during the period of January to April 2008.
Of 666 eligible physicians, 331 completed and returned surveys, resulting in a response rate of 49.7% (331/666). Medical textbooks and colleagues in the main patient care setting were the top 2 sources for the purpose of making specific clinical decisions. Medical textbooks were most frequently considered by FPs to be reliable (trustworthy), and colleagues in the main patient care setting were most physically accessible (easy to access).
When making specific clinical decisions, FPs were most likely to use information from sources that they considered to be reliable and generally physically accessible, suggesting that FPs can best be supported by facilitating easy and convenient access to high-quality information.
本研究旨在确定家庭医生（FPs）最常用来更新其一般医学知识和做出具体临床决策的信息来源，并确定 FPs 认为最便于获取、易于理解、可靠（值得信赖）且与其需求相关的信息来源。
2008 年 1 月至 4 月期间，对加拿大萨斯喀彻温省全职或兼职医疗实践中的 792 名 FPs 和替代医师进行了横断面邮寄调查。
在 666 名合格医生中，有 331 名完成并返回了调查，应答率为 49.7%（331/666）。医学教科书和主要患者护理环境中的同事是做出具体临床决策的前 2 大信息来源。医学教科书最常被 FPs 认为是可靠（值得信赖）的，而主要患者护理环境中的同事则最便于获取（容易获取）。
在做出具体临床决策时，FPs 最有可能使用他们认为可靠且通常易于获取的信息来源，这表明可以通过促进对高质量信息的便捷访问来最好地支持 FPs。
