The relation of critical care nurses' information-seeking behaviour with perception of personal control, training, and non-routineness of the task.

Aims: The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between (1) critical care nurses' information-seeking behaviour and the non-routineness of tasks; and (2) the extent to which nurses' perception of their problem-solving abilities when completing patient care tasks, moderate the relationship between information-seeking behaviour and non-routineness of tasks.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey design was used. A random sample (n = 177) of critical care nurses working in hospital settings was selected from the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) database. Descriptive statistics and multiple regression were used to analyze the data.

Results: Previous information-seeking training (p = 0.008), non-routineness of the task (p = 0.018), and the perception of the problem-solving ability domain of personal control (p = 0.040) had positive relationships with information-seeking behaviour.

Conclusions: The development of problem-solving skills such as personal control, in addition to information-seeking training is essential so critical care nurses will have the skills to aid their information needs when faced with the completion of non-routine tasks.