PERILAKU PENCARIAN INFORMASI MAHASISWA POLITEKNIK KESEHATAN MEDAN

Abstract

The massive availability of health information flows presents a significant risk of medical misinformation. In the health vocational environment (Poltekkes Medan), the tendency for instant information retrieval due to high academic workloads indicates a vulnerability in the clinical literature verification stage. This qualitative research aims to examine these dynamics using David Ellis's Information Seeking Behavior Model, integrated with the concepts of Risk Awareness and Evidence-Based Practice. The results from seven informants reconstructed Ellis's model into a non-linear search flow as a manifestation of "Pragmatic Adaptation". Students exhibited pragmatic tendencies prioritizing efficiency in the starting, chaining, browsing, and extracting stages, while consistently skipping the monitoring stage. However, in the verifying stage, students applied a highly rigorous data triangulation process based on authoritative guidelines (Ministry of Health/WHO). The main finding of this study identifies a feedback loop from the verifying stage back to browsing when clinical information is deemed invalid. In conclusion, the adjustment to the original theoretical model represents Risk Awareness Information Behavior, where students prioritize the application of Evidence-Based Practice to ensure patient safety over the efficiency of completing their final assignments.