The importance of information technology in nursing practice and management of care.

Abstract

The use of Information Technology in Health Care has increased drastically especially in the last decade. However, it has been observed that Health Care Providers including nurses are not prepared enough for this evolution. Since nurses are the largest group of Health Care Workers at the local general hospital, they have been selected for this study to try to investigate their current access and use of Information Technology for work-related purposes. This study sought to assess the level of computer use in nurses working at the local general hospital. A quantitative design was used to collect data through a self-administered questionnaire which was distributed amongst nurses working in all units of the local general hospital. A sample of nurses (n=300) were chosen randomly to participate in the study and the response rate was that of 85%. The quantitative survey have made the researcher discover the current level of confidence in Information Technology nurses acquired; the frequency of its use; and also made discover those barriers that prevent nurses from using Information Technology in their everyday working duties. Moreover, current training in Information Technology was discovered together with training needs nurses might have. Data analysis has shown that nurses younger in age are more confident in the use of Information Technology, however in general level of confidence is quite low. Apart from this a relationship between age and access and use of computers have also been discovered, again with younger nurses accessing and using computers more frequently than older nurses. The barriers that have been discovered hindering the use of Information Technology include "other work demands" as the top barrier, indicating that nurses have many other things to do during their daily duties that find little time to use Information Technology. With regards to training, all nurses indicated that they required training in Information Technology, showing that some form of training should be offered to them enhance their confidence in use. This study suggests that nurses need to improve their confidence in the use of Information Technology for work-related purposes and to achieve this they require training. This can be offered to them through a Continuous Professional Development Training Program in Information Technology. To aid nurses further a reduction in workload and improvement of current computer systems is highly suggested.