Health professionals’ attitudes towards evidence-based medicine and the role of the information professional in exploitation of the research evidence

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Abstract
The aim of a survey, undertaken at an English National Health Service (NHS) trust hospital in the summer of 1996, was to examine health professionals’ awareness of evidence-based medicine (EBM), their attitudes towards problems in implementing EBM locally and their views of the role of the library in supporting EBM. A postal questionnaire (response rate 40%: 182/475) provided baseline information for planning. More doctors than nurses or PAMs (professionals allied to medicine) had heard of the term EBM, but most of the health professionals were in agreement with the principles of EBM despite not understanding the term fully. Most of the health professionals wanted access to resources at the workplace, and doctors in particular preferred to do their own searching. Many health professionals doubted whether a librarian could find the relevant research articles, suggesting the need for better promotion of library services in support of EBM, emphasising value-added services.