Information Seeking Behavior of Para Medical Professionals of Odisha, India: A Study

The importance of the Para medical professionals is no less demanding than the physicians as the potential target audience of the medical libraries. Therefore, the study attempts to explore in length and breadth the key facets of Information Seeking Behavior of Para Medical Professionals of Odisha, India. The study adopted a method of random sampling. It included a sample size of 300 from among 6 leading private and Government Medical Colleges and Hospitals in Odisha covering pharmacists, staff nurses, and medical technicians and professionals holding analogous posts. The copies of a structured questionnaire were personally distributed to the sample respondents at their respective medical colleges and hospitals and some of them were personally interviewed for certain clarifications. The study finds that, a majority of respondents, except Radiographers, seek information primarily, ‘out of curiosity’, and to ‘know about specified treatment’. The resultant data show that, 95.56% of Pharmacists, followed by 84.62% Laboratory Technicians, 75.44% Nurses seek information out of curiosity to know about specific treatment, while majority of Radiographers (89.66%) seek information for smooth conduct of chemical tests. Interestingly, the professional deliberation and advice between the Doctors and their counterpart paraprofessionals at the lower rung received a low profile.