25 July 2005
Royal College of Nursing's Survey On Information Needs
Patients may not be getting the best care possible because nurses have limited access to the latest research and information in their workplaces, according to research from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).
The survey of nurses’ information needs showed that nurses who have the time and easy access to health information at work are more likely to use their research to improve the care they give to patients. Over 1700 nurses responded to the RCN survey, making it one of the largest reviews of nurses’ information needs undertaken in the UK.
Over one third of the respondents had limited access to the Internet for research whilst at work, and almost one in five said they never had access to the Internet at work when they needed it. In the independent sector this rose to nearly half who never had access to the Internet for research in the workplace when they needed it, with 38% saying they had no computer access at work at all.
Due to workload and time constraints getting to a local health library for research during work time was difficult for two out of ten of nurses in NHS hospitals, increasing to 7 out of ten in the independent sector. Within the NHS community setting one third of respondents had difficulty getting to a local health library. As a result just under half of the nurses questioned said that they used a health library regularly dropping to just 17% in the independent sector. A third also said that it was never acceptable for them to leave the workplace to do research to improve their nursing practice.
There are local and regional differences in both access to the Internet and health libraries. Nurses in the South West faced the greatest barriers in getting access to a health library, with 41% agreeing that this was an issue.
When asked about improvements they would like to see in the information services they used, nine out of ten said they would like to get more access to a wider range of full text articles in journals. Almost 90% said that they would like more help with finding the most appropriate articles or reports. There was a high demand for information skills training at all levels. Nurses still require physical resources such as health libraries and support from information professionals as well as online information.
Jackie Lord, Head of Library and Information Services at the RCN, said: “This survey shows that nurses are very keen to do research and use their findings to improve the care they give to patients. But many are hampered by the lack of opportunity to do the research particularly in the independent sector. Employers’ attitudes are crucial in creating a climate where this can happen.
“Health librarians are primed to help nurses to find information and improve their research skills. The role of the employer is crucial here and more efforts should be made to give nurses better access to the Internet and health libraries, and the time during working hours to do research. Ultimately, better informed nurses mean better care for the patients.”
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