Table 2.

Factors contributing to information needs and information seeking

Factor	Degree of uncertainty		Uncertainty triggers information seeking
	N	%	N	%
Resource availability (human/technologic)	99	60.4	111	73.0
Comorbid conditions	93	56.4	122	77.7
Patient factors such as age or physiology	86	51.8	107	68.6
Evidence, unaware, lacking or conflicting	74	45.7	134	86.5
Tumour stage	64	38.6	130	84.4
Patient safety	60	36.8	113	73.9
Chemotherapy or radiotherapy	59	35.8	146	92.4
Patient preferences	56	33.7	88	58.3
Ethical issues	42	25.8	105	68.6
Pathology	40	23.8	145	92.9
Legal issues	35	21.2	104	68.9
Surgery	21	12.7	132	87.4