Abstract
BackgroundMedical professionals have access to a broad range of resources to address clinical information needs. While much attention is given to new sources of data such as those available on the internet, it is less clear how clinicians choose between peer-reviewed research literature and other publication-based sources. This analysis distinguishes between possible drivers of publication type preference (namely, practice setting, advanced training, professional development experiences). Dentists enrolled in the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network (PBRN) are the population for this study. Theories of human and intellectual capital and institutional logics theory are used to understand how advanced training and other clinical experiences may explain the choices that dentists make when faced with clinical questions.MethodsAn online questionnaire was implemented with general dentists in the US National Dental PBRN. A series of logistic and Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression models were used to explain the use of peer-reviewed and other publications. Measures of knowledge-based human capital distinctions (advanced clinical training and research engagement, advanced professional status, personal motivation for professional advancement) were used to explain preferences for research literature as a clinical resource.ResultsGeneral dentists with advanced training, as well as those with a skill advancement motivation, show a preference for peer-reviewed materials. General dentists who have been practicing longer tend to favor other dental publications, preferring those sources as a resource when faced with clinical challenges. Human capital and professional motivation distinguish the information preferences among general dentists. Further, these factors explain more variance in use of peer-reviewed materials than practice setting does. Few differences by demographic groups were evident.ConclusionsResults point to a distinct variation in the general dentistry professional community. Advanced training among general dentists, as well as the types of procedures typically conducted in their practice, distinguishes their information preferences from other general dentists, including those with more years of clinical experience.
Highlights
Medical professionals have access to a broad range of resources to address clinical information needs
In a profession where advanced credentials do not necessarily mean a change in position, how are preferences for information sources affected by the pathways dentists take for ongoing knowledge development relevant to their practice? We focus on general dentists because they comprise the largest group of dental clinicians, work in a range of different practice settings, and provide an array of dental services [12, 13], suggesting different information needs within this population
In dentistry [21], studies have addressed the relationship between logics of medical professionalism that value clinical care with business-oriented commercial logics that focus on efficiency and profit in practice management. It is the differences in these “logics” that we argue are embodied in individual clinician choices about building their human capital/knowledge that may shape information preferences [22]
Summary
While much attention is given to new sources of data such as those available on the internet, it is less clear how clinicians choose between peer-reviewed research literature and other publication-based sources. This analysis distinguishes between possible drivers of publication type preference (namely, practice setting, advanced training, professional development experiences). The focus on how clinicians access these information sources, does not adequately address differences in the content nor selectivity of the information sources, leaving a gap in our understanding of what explains preferences for high-quality peer-reviewed materials over other published materials.
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