International Journal of Academic Library and Information Science
IJALIS
ISSN: 2360-7858
Vol. 13(5), pp. 189- --198 September, 2025.
ISSN: 2360-7858
https://doi.org/10.14662/ijalis2025700
Full Length Research
Access to Healthcare Information Resources by Medical Practitioners in Public Hospitals in Akwa Ibom State
1Columbus Otu Udofot, Ph.D., 2Dr. Ime J. Umoren and 3Bolaji D. Oladokun
1Department of Library and Information Technology, Federal University of Technology, Ikot Abasi 2Department of Computer Science, Federal University of Technology, Ikot Abasi 3Department of Library and Information Technology, Federal University of Technology, Ikot Abasi
*Corresponding author’s E-mail: columbusudofot@yahoo.com
Accepted 18 September 2025
|
Abstract |
This study examined the access to healthcare information resources by medical practitioners in public hospitals in Akwa Ibom State. The purposes of the study were to: identify the types of healthcare information resources available to medical practitioners in public hospitals in Akwa Ibom State; identify the types of skills possessed by medical practitioners for accessing healthcare information resources; identify the challenges militating against the access to healthcare information resources by medical practitioners; and proffer suggested solutions for overcoming the challenges militating against the access to healthcare information resources by medical practitioners in public hospitals in Akwa Ibom State. Four research questions guided the study. This study adopted descriptive survey research design. The population of the study comprised 328 medical practitioners selected using multi-stage sampling procedure to answer the Structured Questionnaire; and Observation Checklist were used for data collection. Mean scores and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions. The result showed that medical doctors in Akwa Ibom State have access to available healthcare information resources. The study also found out that certain challenges such as lack of awareness of available healthcare information resources among medical doctors, lack of virtual libraries, and lack of information literacy skills among medical practitioners were some of the factors militating against access to healthcare information resources. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended among others that current health information resources should be made available in the libraries of public hospitals; also, there should be training and retraining of medical practitioners in public hospitals on the skills required to access healthcare information resources to enable them stay abreast of latest developments in the health sector and gain knowledge for better service delivery.
Keywords: Access; Healthcare; Information Resources; Medical practitioners; Public Hospitals; Nigeria.
| Cite This Article As: Udofot, CO., Umoren, IJ., Oladokun, BD (2025). Access to Healthcare Information Resources by Medical Practitioners in Public Hospitals in Akwa Ibom State. Inter. J. Acad. Lib. Info. Sci. 13(5): 189-198 | |