Project Description

In 2004 the Royal College of Nursing of the UK Library and Information Services carried out a survey into the information needs of nurses and other allied health professionals in the UK. We wanted a good evidence base in order to develop our services and play an influencing role to improve nurses' access to information in the UK. The survey focussed on:
o Information or knowledge to improve practice in the clinical area
o Information needed to support lifelong learning or formal study

The research was carried out by means of a hard copy questionnaire which was distributed by RCN members and NHS health librarians. This methodology was selected to ensure a good response from all our target audience, not just those with good access to IT. We had 1715 responses to a lengthy questionnaire, making it one of the largest and most robust surveys of nurses' information needs in the UK.

The key messages from the information needs analysis were:
o Nursing staff with best access to information are more likely to change their clinical practice as a result of research
o Employers' attitudes are crucial - cultural issues are as important as access to IT equipment, accessing information is still not seen as a priority or even as an acceptable pursuit in some areas
o Significant numbers have no or limited access to computers currently
o Nursing staff in the private sector have less access to information than those working for the NHS
o There are still regional and local differences throughout the UK
o Nursing staff are asking for value added information services such as digests of relevant evidence
o Nursing staff are asking for information skills training
o Physical and electronic resources are still required, nurses want access to libraries as well as online information
o Many nurses are not aware of what is available to them already and are overwhelmed and confused by the range of information resources

As a result of the survey the Royal College of Nursing Library and Information Services are working with NHS England to produce a Nursing Knowledge Toolbox available on the Internet which will enable nurses to access relevant, synthesised evidence with examples of how it might be applied to practice.