TY - JOUR
T1 - Challenges and possible solutions for accessing scholarly literature among medical and nursing professionals and students in low-and-middle income countries
T2 - A systematic review
AU - Zhang, Mengying
AU - Doi, Lawrence
AU - Awua, Joshua
AU - Asare, Hayford
AU - Stenhouse, Rosie
N1 - Funding Information:
Furthermore, the lack of sustainable funding to promote research in LMICs, including poor infrastructure and resources, are the infrastructure and institutional level barriers to accessing scholarly literature ( Ghaffar et al., 2008 ; Van Vught, 2008 ). LMICs still face the challenge of limited research funding opportunities by governments partly because of the weak demand for research output to inform various policies which means governments in LMICs have not fully recognised the importance of research, and the poor alignment of research with government's needs and priorities. In Ghana, for instance, since the government has not established a dedicated funding scheme for research in the country, universities rely on the Ministry of Education to fund research, and research institutes rely on the funding from the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation. Overall, the country relies heavily on international donors to sustain the research system ( Fosci et al., 2019a ).
PY - 2023/4
Y1 - 2023/4
N2 - Background: Access to high quality research literature is essential for educating nursing and healthcare students to promote evidence-based practice. Within Low- and Middle-Income countries (LMICs) access is limited due to financial and structural constraints within countries and institutions. Reduced access to research literature limits the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals through its impact on the education of healthcare staff and on the development of contextually appropriate evidence for practice. Objective: To identify the challenges and possible solutions for accessing scholarly literature among medical and nursing professionals and students in low-and-middle income countries. Design: Systematic review. Data sources: Searches were conducted in MEDLINE, CINAHL PLUS, ERIC, ASSIA, EMBASE, and Google Scholar. Review methods: Five bibliography databases were searched using relevant search terms, from January 2002 to July 2022. Additional searches were carried out in Google Scholar. Titles, abstracts, and full texts were independently screened by at least two authors, based on predefined eligibility criteria. Pertinent data were extracted from included studies, and critical appraisal was undertaken. Data were analysed and presented in a narrative approach. Results: Five papers met the inclusion criteria and were included. Three aspects of challenges at different levels emerged: infrastructure and institutional level factors, individual factors, and lack of contextually appropriate evidence. Three solutions were identified: capacity development opportunities, improving Internet access, and increasing awareness of free resources. Conclusion: This review provides an overview of common barriers medical and nursing professionals and students encounter whilst accessing scholarly literature in LMICs and identifies some possible solutions to address them. The findings can be used to guide institutions, as well as national and international decision makers to elicit policy which can promote the uptake of research in LMICs. Further research should focus on how these solutions could be harnessed to address the problems identified in this review.
AB - Background: Access to high quality research literature is essential for educating nursing and healthcare students to promote evidence-based practice. Within Low- and Middle-Income countries (LMICs) access is limited due to financial and structural constraints within countries and institutions. Reduced access to research literature limits the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals through its impact on the education of healthcare staff and on the development of contextually appropriate evidence for practice. Objective: To identify the challenges and possible solutions for accessing scholarly literature among medical and nursing professionals and students in low-and-middle income countries. Design: Systematic review. Data sources: Searches were conducted in MEDLINE, CINAHL PLUS, ERIC, ASSIA, EMBASE, and Google Scholar. Review methods: Five bibliography databases were searched using relevant search terms, from January 2002 to July 2022. Additional searches were carried out in Google Scholar. Titles, abstracts, and full texts were independently screened by at least two authors, based on predefined eligibility criteria. Pertinent data were extracted from included studies, and critical appraisal was undertaken. Data were analysed and presented in a narrative approach. Results: Five papers met the inclusion criteria and were included. Three aspects of challenges at different levels emerged: infrastructure and institutional level factors, individual factors, and lack of contextually appropriate evidence. Three solutions were identified: capacity development opportunities, improving Internet access, and increasing awareness of free resources. Conclusion: This review provides an overview of common barriers medical and nursing professionals and students encounter whilst accessing scholarly literature in LMICs and identifies some possible solutions to address them. The findings can be used to guide institutions, as well as national and international decision makers to elicit policy which can promote the uptake of research in LMICs. Further research should focus on how these solutions could be harnessed to address the problems identified in this review.
KW - challenge
KW - healthcare
KW - literature
KW - low-and-middle income countries
KW - medical
KW - solution
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85147430395&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.nedt.2023.105737
DO - 10.1016/j.nedt.2023.105737
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:85147430395
SN - 0260-6917
VL - 123
JO - Nurse Education Today
JF - Nurse Education Today
M1 - 105737
ER -