INFORMATION SEEKING BEHAVIOUR OF HEALTH WORKERS IN PRIMARY HEALTH CENTRE IN EDE METROPOLIS, OSUN STATE NIGERIA

The purpose of the study is to examine the Information seeking behaviour of primary health workers in primary health center in Ede metropolis. The study was guided by five objectives such as type’s health information seeking, factors influencing the information seeking behavior, the health information sources consulted among others. The study uses a quantitative research and data was collected through questionnaire. The questionnaires were coded, analyzed and presented in tables, while the population of the study is (135) in Primary health centres in Ede metropolis. Total enumeration sampling technique was used as the sampling technique. Only 97(79.9%) of the questionnaire was return valid and useable. The findings of the study revealed the insights into health information-seeking behaviour among health workers in primary health centers in Ede metropolis reveals a proactive engagement, characterized by a high level of agreement across various topics such as Malaria (97%), Diabetes (88%), and Emerging Diseases (86%). Also, the study reveals the factors influencing information seeking such as Availability of resources (91%), Information technology infrastructure (90%) training and knowledge (90%) among others. The study finds out the Health Information Sources Consulted are medical journals (70%), medical textbooks (84%), online healthcare database (75%), and health organization websites (73%) among others. The identify the challenges affecting information seeking behaviour among health workers such as limited information resources (94%), Lack of training and search skills (84%) infrastructure and facilities (90%), access to information (86%). The study conclude that Primary health center personnel in Ede metropolitan have a dynamic information-seeking culture that demonstrates their proactive engagement and shared interest in varied health issues. Therefore, the study recommends that Government health departments should allocate additional resources to primary health centers. The study also recommends that technology companies, government health departments, and healthcare administrators should integrate technology solutions into healthcare settings.