Objective: Information is changing rapidly and being constantly updated in the fight against coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) infection. Obtaining up-to-date information has become an important requirement of healthcare workers during this time. The purpose of this study was to determine information communication technology (ICT) tools used by healthcare workers to access up-to-date information concerning COVID-19 disease during the peak period. Material and Methods: This descriptive study was conducted with the participation of 134 healthcare workers, 59 physicians and 75 nurses, working in Karadeniz Technical University Farabi Hospital. A data form developed by the authors was employed as a data collection tool. The data were analyzed using the chi-square and Wilcoxon signed rank tests. Results: Length of use of ICT tools and applications increased significantly compared to the pre-pandemic period (p<0.05). The ICT tool regarded as most useful by physicians and nurses for obtaining upto- date information about the COVID-19 disease during the pandemic was the official Health Ministry web site (76.4% and 71.4%, respectively) and WhatsApp (28.0% and 32.8%, respectively). The academic databases most employed for access to professional information among healthcare workers during this period were Google Scholar (44.8%), PubMed (44.0%), and MEDLINE (20.9%). Conclusion: During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers mostly followed the Ministry of Health publications for access to up-to-date information on the COVID-19 disease, and benefited WhatsApp application the most. During this period, there was a significant increase in the time that healthcare workers use (ICT) tools to obtain information about clinical applications. The data obtained from this study will be a useful guide for strategies aimed at facilitating access to evidence-based information on the part of healthcare workers during times of pandemic.
Keywords: Access to information; COVID-19; healthcare personnel; pandemic
Amaç: Koronavirüs hastalığı-2019 [coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19)] enfeksiyonuyla mücadelede bilgiler hızla değişmekte ve sürekli güncellenmektedir. Bu süreçte, güncel bilgi edinmek sağlık çalışanlarının önemli bir gereksinimi hâline gelmiştir. Çalışmada sağlık çalışanlarının COVID-19 pandemi döneminde, COVID-19 hastalığına ilişkin güncel bilgilere erişim için yararlandığı bilgi iletişim teknolojisi (BIT) araçlarının belirlenmesi amaçlandı. Gereç ve Yöntemler: Tanımlayıcı nitelikte olan çalışma, Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi Farabi Hastanesi çalışmakta olan 59 doktor ve 75 hemşireden oluşan toplam 134 sağlık çalışanının katılımıyla gerçekleştirildi. Çalışmada veri toplama aracı olarak araştırmacılar tarafından geliştirilen veri formu kullanıldı. Çalışmadan elde edilen veriler ki-kare ve Wilcoxon İşaretli Sıralar Testi kullanılarak analiz edildi. Bulgular: Çalışmada sağlık çalışanlarının COVID-19 pandemi döneminde klinik uygulamalara ilişkin bilgi edinme amacıyla BIT araçlarını ve BIT uygulamalarını kullanma süresinin pandemi öncesine göre anlamlı düzeyde arttığı belirlendi (p<0,05). COVID-19 pandemi döneminde, hekimlerin ve hemşirelerin salgın hastalığa ilişkin güncel bilgi edinmek için en yararlı gördüğü araçlar Sağlık Bakanlığının resmi internet sitesi (sırasıyla %76,4; %71,4) ve WhatsApp uygulaması (sırasıyla %28,0; %32,8) idi. Bu dönemde, sağlık çalışanlarının mesleki bilgiye erişim amacıyla en çok yararlandığı akademik veri tabanlarının sırasıyla Google Schoolar (%44,8), PubMed (%44,0) ve MEDLINE (%20,9) olduğu belirlendi. Sonuç: COVID-19 pandemi döneminde, sağlık çalışanlarının COVID-19 hastalığına ilişkin güncel bilgilere erişim için en çok Sağlık Bakanlığı yayınlarını takip etmiş ve en çok WhatsApp uygulamasından yararlanmıştır. Bu dönemde, sağlık çalışanlarının klinik uygulamalara ilişkin bilgi edinme amacıyla BIT araçlarını kullanma süresinde anlamlı bir artış söz konusu olmuştur. Çalışmadan elde edilen veriler, pandemi dönemlerinde sağlık çalışanlarının kanıta dayalı bilgilere erişimini kolaylaştırmaya yönelik stratejiler için yönlendirici bilgiler içermektedir.
Anahtar Kelimeler: Bilgiye erişim; COVID-19; sağlık personeli; pandemi
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