Fortschritte in der angewandten Wissenschaftsforschung Offener Zugang

Abstrakt

The information needs of patients in Ahmadu Bello university teching hospital, Zaria

Abdulsalami T. Lucky and Paulina F. Salami

This study which is to investigate the information needs of out and in-ptients of the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria use a survey research method. The study underscores the great importance of information to this group of people especially as adequate provision of these needs has a positive implication if not just a speedy recovery but also on the prevention of certain avoidable ailments. The review of related literature confirmed these. To achieve the primary goal of the study, the questionnaire, interviews and personal observation have been used complementarily to collect relevant data. The data was carried out using the frequency table and percentages along side the discussions. In the end, it was found that both in-and out-patients of the hospital, need a diverse information including how and where to get doctors and drugs. Besides, the hospital’s information unit was responsible for catering to this need with room for improvement. Meanwhile, the hospital’s library was not active in this respect. To this end, it was recommended that the authority of the hospital takes a concious step towards harmonizing the obligations of the information unit with those of the library with a view to meeting the information needs of its patients more adequately