Role of Information Literacy in Effective Evidence-based Practice

The healthcare sector is a dynamic and expanding area that is replete with numerous new developments, resulting in explosion of literature and information overload. An adequate level of information literacy is required to benefit from the growing healthcare literature. Concurrently, there also has been an emphasis on Evidence-Based Practice (EBP), as a thoughtful integration of the best available evidence for solving clinical problems and providing quality patient care. EBP requires that healthcare professionals are able to assess current and past researches, clinical guidelines and other information resources. Information literacy skills will support EBP by providing opportunity to learn about information architecture and enhancing the ability to navigate, access, search, and critically evaluate appropriate resources. This paper reviews the fundamentals of EBP and highlights the role of information literacy in effective EBP. Current information literacy programs for nurses are identified and suggestions are made for surveys of existing information literacy among healthcare professionals with an emphasis on nurses in four Singapore hospitals.