The Role of Paying for Access in the Online Information Seeking‐Behavior of Canadian Midwives: Preliminary Findings

ABSTRACT It is of paramount importance to support midwifery practice with research evidence. Nevertheless, Canadian midwives encounter significant obstacles in accessing research evidence for practice. As part of a broader study which seeks to identify an optimal method for providing midwives in Canada with access to online clinical resources, this poster reports on the preliminary findings of the survey phase. The objective of this study was to ascertain the frequency with which Canadian midwives utilize information sources accessible to them through institutional affiliations and to determine whether they are aware of the financial cost of providing such services. Additionally, the survey sought to ascertain whether their perception of a resource being free, or premium affects its perceived value and use intentions. A descriptive survey design employing a structured web‐based questionnaire was used to collect the requisite data. The preliminary findings indicated that participants perceived the value of free sources to be lower than premium sources and that they intended to use premium sources more frequently if they were able to pay for them. Moreover, the study demonstrated that participants frequently seek information online to support clinical practice, yet they utilize access to online resources through their institutional affiliation less so.