ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a
flood of-often contradictory-evidence. HCWs had to develop
strategies to locate information that supported their
work. We investigated the information-seeking of different HCW groups in
Germany.
METHODS:
In December 2020, we conducted online surveys on COVID-19
information sources,
strategies, assigned trustworthiness, and barriers-and in February 2021, on COVID-19
vaccination information sources. Results were analyzed descriptively; group comparisons were performed using χ2-tests.
RESULTS:
For general COVID-19-related medical information (413 participants), non-
physicians most often selected official websites (57%), TV (57%), and
e-mail/
newsletters (46%) as preferred
information sources-
physicians chose official websites (63%),
e-mail/
newsletters (56%), and professional journals (55%). Non-
physician HCWs used Facebook/YouTube more frequently. The main barriers were insufficient
time and access issues. Non-
physicians chose abstracts (66%), videos (45%), and webinars (40%) as preferred information strategy;
physicians overviews with
algorithms (66%), abstracts (62%), webinars (48%). Information seeking on COVID-19
vaccination (2700 participants) was quite
similar, however, with newspapers being more often used by non-
physicians (63%) vs.
physician HCWs (70%).
CONCLUSION:
Non-
physician HCWs more often consulted
public information sources. Employers/institutions should ensure the
supply of professional, targeted COVID-19 information for different HCW groups.