Assessment of Drug Information Services and Information Seeking Behavior Among Healthcare Professionals in Kaduna State

ABSTRACT Drug information service is a specialized service provided by pharmacists to enhance drug knowledge, rational prescribing and reduce medication errors. While information seeking behavior encompasses the information needs and sources consulted to obtain drug information. The study is aimed at assessing drug information services (DIS) and information seeking behavior among healthcare professionals (HCPs), carried out at Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital and Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Kaduna State.  It adopted a cross-sectional descriptive research study, and convenience sampling technique was used for this study. The study population was 345 healthcare professionals (Doctors, Pharmacists and Nurses) in both selected tertiary hospitals, from which a sample of 208 was drawn. Paper-based and online questionnaire were used. The questionnaires were divided into two sections, with a section for Pharmacists alone, while the other section was for both Doctors and Nurses. Out of 208 questionnaires administered, 190 were retrieved for analysis. Data was analyzed using frequencies and percentages.  The findings of the study for Pharmacists showed that patients (32%) maximally utilized the drug information services. It was agreed that Pharmacists provided a satisfactory (51%) drug information, with most queries being on drug availability and cost (65%), adverse drug effects (62%) and drug indication (54%). The common drug information sources consulted by pharmacists was Emdex/Micromedex (80%). In respect to the results on the seeking behavior of other healthcare professionals (HCPs), most HCPs commonly rely on google (57%) and Pharmacists (41%) for their drug information. Furthermore, this study revealed that drug side effects (76%) and indication (72%) are the common drug information requirement by other HCPs. Finally, most HCPs complain of lack of time (48%) and unreliable information on the internet (48%) as a barrier towards seeking drug information. The Drug information services provided by the pharmacists were satisfactory and useful by providing unbiased and reliable drug information. Information needs are prompted by the desire to provide good and accurate healthcare services, revealing that most HCPs had drug information needs. Pharmacists and the internet appeared to be the most accessible options to seek their drug information.