RAPID: Collaborative Research: Ebola-related Information Obtained by Healthcare Providers: Effects of Formal and Informal Communication Channels and Organizational Structure

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The spread of Ebola from Africa to the United States has received much attention among the general public and healthcare providers (e.g., nurses). Healthcare providers need a diverse range of information in order to protect themselves and the public. However, they may, or may not, be able to obtain such information from their employers. In critical and time sensitive situations, they may obtain information from other sources to complement employer-provided information. This research aims to study the dynamics on the types of information healthcare providers wanted and obtained and their relationships with organizational network and structural characteristics. This research is grounded in the literature on social network and organizational structure. It also builds on the principal investigators' previous productive collaboration on the health information wants (HIW) concept, framework, and questionnaire, which emphasizes a bottom-up approach to understanding the types and amount of a broad range of health information wanted by individuals. This study can advance knowledge about social network and organizational structure by examining their effects on healthcare providers in various healthcare organizations in time sensitive situations like the current Ebola crisis. It can also advance the HIW framework by examining its use in the context of healthcare organizations. It bridges together these two previously separated bodies of literature and creates new knowledge about the information healthcare providers wanted and obtained, as well as their relationships with social network and organizational structure. Study findings can help develop informational, educational interventions to effectively and efficiently provide the right types and amount of information healthcare providers in different organizations want in Ebola-like emergencies in the future. The findings may lead to improved health and well-being of healthcare providers and the patients they care for when similar crises occur.