Serendipity in a survey: NHS staff tell us what they really think about e-journals

1. Serendipity in a survey: NHS staff tell us what they really think about e-journals Hannah PrinceEast of England Health Libraries Grouphannah.prince@pah.nhs.uk

2. The e-journals • 2008: East of England NHS libraries’ Journals Project: 71 titles + Proquest collections • National titles: BMJ, AMA and Ebsco • 2009: Business case needed for continuation of funding for East of England titles

3. The survey • Used Surveymonkey (full subscription) • 27th July to 24th August 2009 • £20 Amazon voucher prizedraw (said 3, more awarded) • Advertised by local librarians: emails, posters, inserts in journal print-outs • Some libraries gave out paper copies

4. Questions Please choose your professional group from the list below. In the past year, have you used your NHS Athens password to get an article from an online journal? To which of the following did information you read in online journals contribute?Please choose as many as applicable. If you didn’t use your NHS Athens password to get access to an online journal this year, why not? Please choose as many as applicable. Can you think of an example where online access to a journal article contributed to your work or professional development? Please tell us about it: Do you have any other comments about online access to journal articles? If so, please enter them here.

5. Results • First day: 488 responses • First week: 1436 responses • End of survey: 2365 online, 32 paper • = around 10% of Athens accounts in EoE • 1793 respondents supplied organisation or email address to enter prize draw • 1641 respondents entered a comment in one or more of the free-text fields • 29 organisations represented, spread fairly evenly around the SHA region.

6. Professional group

7. Used Athens to access journal

8. To which of the following did information you read in online journal articles contribute? (Please choose as many as applicable) Keeping up to date: 74.9% Teaching: 50.3% Presenting to a department or internal meeting: 40.5% Completing coursework: 36.7% Conducting a research project: 33.9% Making a decision about a specific patient: 33.1% Conducting an audit: 23.5% Conducting a systematic review: 23.4% Reviewing a departmental procedure: 22.1% Giving information to a patient or carer: 21.9% Presenting to an external meeting: 20.8% Preparing for an exam: 16.2% Preparing a business case: 9.6%

9. If you didn’t use your NHS Athens password to get access to an online journal this year, why not? (Please choose as many as applicable) Didn’t need to read a journal article online: 40.6% Didn’t know I could: 30.4% Asked a librarian to print articles for me to read: 12.4% Couldn’t get an NHS Athens password: 12.1% Used a password from another organisation: 7.9% Asked a colleague to print articles for me to read: 7%

10. Purposes for which an example was given

11. Positive comments 1 • Speed of access and time saved • including freeing up time so more reading is possible • Geographical access: • at a work site distant from the library, off-site at home or away • Time of access: • when the library is closed, at the most convenient time to work, when other information resources aren’t available, when others are using same journal • Ease of use: • including the capacity to skim-read several articles and choose which to print to read in detail

12. Positive comments 2 • More up to date than paper (e- ahead of print) • Ability to manipulate the format • e.g. using images in a presentation or sharing with colleagues • Saving money / environment • Greater quantity or range of material available than a library could keep in print

13. Negative comments • 54 out of 1477 in question 5; more in question 6 • More journals wanted: • in general, in own field, specific journal title • Lots of misunderstandings • which journals subscribed, split between databases and journals, nature of Athens, have to pay for full text • Ease of access • Searching difficulties, which articles are full text, password difficulties • Embargoes • Slow internet

14. Non-users • 45% added comments: • Positive: just hadn’t used this year, or used university / other access • Negative: similar issues to other negative commenters • Most not anti e-journals

15. What did we learn? • People are willing to give detailed responses to e-journal surveys • A substantial number of NHS staff in the East of England find e-journals useful for their practice as well as their learning • Many people have difficulties using authentication and publisher interfaces, and appreciate librarians’ help

16. What can we do with it? • Bid for funding… • Plan training • Plan publicity / marketing • Make purchasing decisions • Talk to publishers? • Repeat and compare? • Ideas welcome…

17. tHIS IS ONE THE BEST THINGS TO HAPPEN TO nhs PROFESSIONALS • Sometimes they are so very frustrating! • I live in rural norfolk, limited access to library facilities, nearest nursing library is more than 30 miles/60mins drive away, it's invaluable! • i love the idea but keep forgetting how to use athens, update sessions would be great. • Rapid access to information about the swine flu pandemic – for planning research, publication of a paper, and developing departmental guidelines.

18. “Numerous times I have required to access a journal immediately to inform my clinical decision making when I have had a patient in clinic.” (AHP) • “I was able to decide on use of a certain medication during operation in theatre ………” (Junior Doctor) • “Everyday, because of the rarity of the conditions we work with, we access journals to get the most up to date evidence and information …….” (Consultant) • “Recently saw a patient with C1 esterase deficiency for theatre next morning. Reviewed the case report and a review on the topic before operating next day ……..” (Junior Doctor) • “It has proved invaluable in keeping up to date and checking references to support clinicians to develop guidance and service standards.” (Manager/Admin) • “I really could not have reviewed the literature thoroughly and in good time for a recent major conference presentation without E access.” (Consultant) • “Real time access to the article enables me to progress the line of inquiry in a more efficient way as this type of work is done out of hours – at desk / home” (Manager/Admin) • “… in clinical work it is good to ‘browse’ articles to get a background feel on a subject …… paper copy only ordering would be too large a quantity, and may include some that turn out to not be that relevant. It is much better to be independent and have access at home and out of work hours for keeping up to date as realisticly there is not enough time at work.” (AHP) • “Remote access to a variety of journals has been invaluable in a job where I am based in different places during the week.” (Junior Doctor) • “In addition to my midwifery role I am also a counsellor in reproductive health. I am able to access psychology/mental health journals which are not held in my hospital library.” (Nurse/Midwife/Health Visitor)