ABSTRACT

This study examined the impact of hospital libraries on clinical decision-making of the Federal Medical Centre (F.M C) Library, Umuahia. The aim of the study was to find out how frequently medicqi personnels use the hospital libraries, their reasons for using the hospital library, the impact of the information they obtain from the hospital library on patient care and clinical decision-making and to highlight the challenges to the use of hospital library. The study adopted the survey research method, with a researcher-made questionnaire and interview schedule as instruments for data collection. The simple frequency tables and percentages where used in presenting and analyzing data. The findings show that most medical personnel in F.M C, Umuahia do not make use of the hospital library on regular basis. The research also discovered that the major reasons behind the use of the hospital library by medical personnel are to conduct medical researches, to know latest treatment methods and to read medical literatures. It was further revealed that the greatest impact of library services on clinical decision-making was its intrinsic on the better advice given to patients, improved diagnosis, choices of drugs and reduced mortality. The study also discovered that staff's tight schedule in addition to poor quality services and inadequate library resources hinder the use of hospital libraries by patrons. The study recommended that hospital libraries should be adequately funded, that public enlightment programmes and current awareness services should be provided to stimulate medical staff to make use of the hospital library on a more regular basis. More also, emphasis should be made on the use of the internet and other e-information services to meet the information needs of medical practitioners. Also training programmes should be held from time to time by Associations of Medical Librarians in order to train medical librarians to adapt to trendy paradigm in the dissemination of medical library and information services.