Physicians' Use of Medical Knowledge Resources

Shawn P. Curley, Donald P. Connelly and Eugene C. Rich

Medical Decision Making, 1990, vol. 10, issue 4, 231-241

Abstract: The recurring decision of selecting among potential knowledge resources was modeled as a cost-benefit tradeoff, with associated observable features. Internal medicine and com munity family practice physicians (n = 228) completed a self-administered questionnaire designed to elicit reported use and cost-benefit features of nine knowledge resources. The subjects reported most frequent use of clinical colleagues, intermediate use of textbooks and journals, and least use of indexing systems. Resources' benefit-related qualities (ex tensiveness and credibility) were not related to reported use. In contrast, the model's access cost variables (availability, searchability, understandability, and clinical applicability) were significantly related to use. Results were generally favorable to the model's framework of knowledge resource selection. Multiple linear regression analysis suggested that physicians' use of clinical knowledge resources could be described by the physician's level of training, availability, applicability, and the resource medium (colleague, index, or text/journal).

Keywords: Key words: choice behavior; psychological models; judgment; medical knowledge; information needs. (Med Decis Making 1990; 10:231-241) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1990
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:medema:v:10:y:1990:i:4:p:231-241

DOI: 10.1177/0272989X9001000401

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