Information Literacy and Evidence-Based Medicine Skills in the Medical Residents

Abstract

Background: Evidence-based medicine (EBM) involves the use of the best research evidence in clinical decision-making. Information literacy encompasses searching the web, critically analyzing content, and utilizing media materials or computers for specific purposes. Objectives: The aim of this study is to investigate medical residents' familiarity with and utilization of EBM in practice. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among all medical residents at Zanjan University of Medical Sciences in 2023 (N = 183). The Persian standard scale for Iranian college students was used to measure information literacy. Familiarity with EBM was assessed using questions related to the role of EBM in patient treatment, familiarity with scientific sources, and knowledge of epidemiological and statistical concepts. Data were analyzed using a t-test, one-way ANOVA, Welch’s test, chi-square test, and Spearman correlation, all conducted with IBM SPSS version 22. Results: Information literacy was highest in locating and organizing information but lowest in information exchange. Information organization was significantly lower in internal medicine compared to cardiology, radiology, psychiatry, and neurology. Approximately 54% of students attended EBM workshops, and 36% were able to correctly define EBM. The concepts of absolute risk, odds ratio, likelihood ratio, and number needed to harm were the most familiar to the students. Conclusions: The information literacy level of medical residents is average, with approximately 30% of the target population effectively using resources in clinical decision-making. Most residents either remained uninformed or were aware of these resources but did not utilize them. Therefore, it is essential for doctors to be able to search for and retrieve appropriate clinical evidence to apply in their future clinical experiences with specific diseases.