Information needs of Russian specialists in health care administration, management and economics

Abstract

Aim: to analyze information needs of specialists in health care administration, management and economics.  Methods: sociological, statistical and content analysis. Objectives: 1. to analyze results of the questionnaire survey of specialists in health care administration, management and economics designed to identify their information needs;   2. to analyze requests for information to the WHO Documentation Center by specialists in health care administration, management and economics;  3. to identify and present topics and types of information recourses that specialists in health care administration, management and economics need.  Results: Generally, specialists in health care administration, management and economics develop information and analytical updates for decision makers. Therefore, it is crucial to understand what topics this group of information consumers is most interested in, as well as what sources of information this group may need. To find out we conducted a questionnaire survey of this group of specialists and analyzed their requests for information to the WHO Documentation Center.  The questionnaire helped identify major information needs of this group of specialists with the following findings. Topics of interest: mortality analysis and trends by age and cause of death; fertility analysis and trends; economic performance of health care facilities; quality performance of health care facilities; and analysis of the relevant international experience and comparative overviews. Types of information resources: Russian statistics digests; National health report; articles on health economics and management in the Russian journals; WHO statistical databases (Health for all) and EUROSTAT; WHO evidence reports on health economics and management; PubMed – articles on economics and quality of health care; Cochrane library etc.