Background: In order to promote the implementation of evidence-based practice (EBP), the National Health Research Institutes (NHRI) has offered free access to Cochrane Library (CL) for the health professionals of the regional hospitals in Taiwan since the beginning of 2007. Objectives: The current study is designed to verify the characteristics of the CL users. Methods: A constructed questionnaire was designed for survey analysis. A total of 2806 valid questionnaires from the regional teaching hospitals in Taiwan were collected by 2009. Results: Approximately 32.3% participants used CL at least once per month during the past year. The physicians more often accessed CL than the nurses (P < 0.001). Respondents with either higher academic degree or faculty position or administrative position were more likely to use CL (P < 0.001). In addition, the users of CL tended to have more positive belief, attitudes, knowledge and skills of EBP. They suffered lesser barriers to EBP than non-users. In addition to CL, the users also more often accessed the other online evidence retrieval databases, including the Index to Chinese Periodical Literature, the Chinese Electronic Periodical Services, the Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health Literature, MD consult, MEDLINE, ProQuest, and UpToDate. Conclusions: CL has not been widely used in the regional hospitals of Taiwan. The current study has identified the personal characteristics of the CL users. These data provide evidence for future strategy design to encourage health professionals to access CL.
