Relationship between Nursing Informatics Competency and Innovativeness among Qualified Nurses

Context: Nursing informatics is an important quality resource for patient care, which promotes, enhances, and increases the organization's growth and influences the innovativeness level of the individuals.Aim: This study aimed to assess the relationship between nursing informatics competency and innovativeness among qualified nurses. Methods: Descriptive correlational cross-sectional study design was used to conduct this study on all units (57 units) at Benha University Hospital, Egypt. A Convenience sample of all available (223) qualified nurses working at Banha University Hospital Nursing informatics competency assessment Questionnaire and individual innovativeness (II) questionnaire. Results: 28% of the participants rated themselves as experts in the nursing informatics competency. At the same time, 40% and 22% were early adopters and innovators regarding the total individual innovativeness level. There was a positive, highly statistically significant correlation between the overall score of informatics competency and individual innovativeness for qualified nurses (r= 0.263, p-value = 0.000). A highly statistically significant relationship was also detected between the demographic variables in the study and both informatics competency and individual innovativeness for qualified nurses. Conclusion: A positive, highly statistically significant correlation is evidenced between the overall score of informatics competency and individual innovativeness for qualified nurses. To prepare nursing students to meet the ever-changing technical needs of patients, computer and information skills should be integrated into the nursing curriculum. Also, nursing education programs should utilize educational methods that encourage innovativeness among their students

Information and Communication Technology Skills of Students Using the Distant Education Management System to Complete Their Theology Undergraduate Education

Considering several variables, the present study aimed at examining the information and communication technology skills of university students taking their courses with the distant education system. In the study, the singular and relational survey model, one of general survey models, was used. The research sample was made up of 381 students attending the Distant Undergraduate Education Completion Program in Theology (DUECPT) at Dicle University in the Diyarbakir in Turkey in the academic year of 2013-2014. The first part of the questionnaire used the data collection tool in the study covered such demographic information about the students to reveal personal information about them as well as their use of information and communication technologies. As for the second part of the questionnaire, it included a scale to determine the participants’ information and technology skills. In the study, such descriptive statistics as frequencies, percentages, mean scores, mod and median as well as such parametric tests as t-test and one-way analysis of variance were applied. The results revealed that the university students’ information and communication technology skills differed significantly with respect to their gender, Internet use time, years of experience in computer use and their preferences of mobile device and that there was no significant difference with respect to their preferences of instructional methods (face-to-face or blended), their foreign language proficiencies, their preferences for studying (as a group or individual) and their preferences in learning

Alfabetización digital en estudiantes de secundaria de Yucatán, México

Various international and national organizations recognize the important role that information and communication technologies (ICT) play in economic growth, especially in the context of the health contingency situation due to COVID-19. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development highlights the development of society's digital skills as a focus of current interest. Previous studies have reported the lack of theoretical and methodological consensus that exists around the study of digital literacy, as well as information gaps in certain populations. Therefore, this study evaluated the level of digital literacy in high school students and the factors that are related. The methodology was quantitative. Participants were determined by cluster sampling (n = 135). A maximum performance test was used as an instrument, the reliability was calculated using the KR-20 and McDonald's Omega coefficients (.631 and .664). The results indicate that secondary school students have an intermediate level of digital literacy.En la actualidad, diversos organismos internacionales y nacionales reconocen el papel importante que desempeñan las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación (TIC) dentro del crecimiento económico, especialmente en el marco de la situación de contingencia sanitaria por COVID-19. En este sentido, la Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económicos resalta como un foco de interés actual el desarrollo de las competencias digitales de la sociedad. Estudios previos han reportado la falta de consenso teórico y metodológico que existe en torno al estudio de la alfabetización digital, así como vacíos de información en determinadas poblaciones. Por lo anterior, este estudio evaluó el nivel de alfabetización digital en estudiantes de secundaria y los factores que se relacionan. La metodología fue cuantitativa. Los participantes se determinaron mediante un muestreo por conglomerados (n=135). Se utilizó como instrumento una prueba de ejecución máxima cuya confiabilidad se calculó mediante los coeficientes KR-20 y Omega de Mcdonald (.631 y .664). Los resultados indican que los estudiantes de secundaria tienen un nivel intermedio de alfabetización digital

Social Media Application in Agriculture Extension Programming for Small Scale Rural Farmers: Is Knowledge Impeding the Lack of Adoption?

The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge level of farmers on basic computer literacy, social media use, and to explore which social and demographic factors affected their knowledge capacity. The study had a final sample of 176 participants from the northern, southern and central regions of Trinidad and Tobago. A survey instrument comprising of 14 multiple-choice questions with one accurate response was developed to decrease bias of farmers randomly selecting the accurate response. The questions addressed knowledge on basic computer and social media literacy. Analysis was conducted using one-way ANOVA with post-hoc testing. Results indicated that there were significant differences in farmers’ performance in the knowledge test based on characteristics such as age, education, and household use of social media and the internet. Based on the findings, minimal training in computer and social media literacy did not impede the farmers’ use of the computer or social media. These discoveries highlight the potential of extension programs using the internet and social media applications to improve communication efficiency among agricultural stakeholders within farming communities

Empirical Study of Nova Scotia Nurses’ Adoption of Healthcare Information Systems: Implications for Management and Policy-Making

Abstract Background: This paper used the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), which was extended, to investigate nurses’ adoption of healthcare information systems (HIS) in Nova Scotia, Canada. Methods: Data was collected from 197 nurses in a survey and data analysis was carried out using the partial least squares (PLS) technique. Results: In contrast to findings in prior studies that used TPB to investigate clinicians’ adoption of technologies in Canada and elsewhere, this study found no statistical significance for the relationships between attitude and subjective norm in relation to nurses’ intention to use HIS. Rather, facilitating organizational conditions was the only TPB variable that explained sampled nurses’ intention to use HIS at work. In particular, effects of computer habit and computer anxiety among older nurses were signified. Conclusion: To encourage nurses’ adoption of HIS, healthcare administrators need to pay attention to facilitating organization conditions at work. Enhancing computer knowledge or competence is important for acceptance. Information presented in the study can be used by administrators of healthcare facilities in the research location and comparable parts of the world to further improve HIS adoption among nurses. The management of nursing professionals, especially in certain contexts (eg, prevalence of older nursing professionals), can make use of this study’s insights

Comparing Basic Computer Literacy Self-Assessment Test and Actual Skills Test in Hospital Employees

A new hospital in United Arab Emirates (UAE) plans to adopt health information technology (HIT) and become fully digitalized once operational. The hospital has identified a need to assess basic computer literacy of new employees prior to offering them training on various HIT applications. Lack of research in identifying an accurate assessment method for basic computer literacy among health care professionals led to this explanatory correlational research study, which compared self-assessment scores and a simulated actual computer skills test to find an appropriate tool for assessing computer literacy. The theoretical framework of the study was based on constructivist learning theory and self-efficacy theory. Two sets of data from 182 hospital employees were collected and analyzed. A t test revealed that scores of self-assessment were significantly higher than they were on the actual test, which indicated that hospital employees tend to score higher on self-assessment when compared to actual skills test. A Pearson product moment correlation revealed a statistically weak correlation between the scores, which implied that self-assessment scores were not a reliable indicator of how an individual would perform on the actual test. An actual skill test was found to be the more reliable tool to assess basic computer skills when compared to self-assessment test. The findings of the study also identified areas where employees at the local hospital lacked basic computer skills, which led to the development of the project to fill these gaps by providing training on basic computer skills prior to them getting trained on various HIT applications. The findings of the study will be useful for hospitals in UAE who are in the process of adopting HIT and for health information educators to design appropriate training curricula based on assessment of basic computer literacy

Use and acceptance of education technologies by academics in a school of nursing in the Western Cape, South Africa

Magister Curationis - McurAIMS: This study aims to investigate the use and acceptance of educational technologies by academics in a nursing school in the Western Cape, South Africa (determination of educational technology use, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and influencing factors). The findings of the study may be used to facilitate planning for and implementation of increase use of educational technologies to enhance teaching and learning. METHODS: The research design was a quantitative descriptive survey using a self-administered questionnaire. Due to small population size, all 58 academics (28 lecturers- qualified personnel to teach students conduct research and involved in administration of modules and levels) and 30 clinical facilitators- registered nurses with clinical expertise who assists students in the clinical placements were included in the study. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) provided the framework for the study. The study adapted an existing questionnaire developed by Kripanont in 2007. Validity and reliability of the instrument were established and pre-testing was done to validate the questions. Data was entered into SPSS version 23 and analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics techniques. RESULTS: The findings suggested that though academics use educational technology but usage was found to be low and the academics were selective in the type of technology that they use which is influenced by need, availability, duties and academic positions of such academic. This will help facilitating planning for implementation of increased use of educational technology to enhance teaching and learning. Lecturers use educational technology for teaching and learning, while its use among the clinical facilitators is still minimal. The most commonly and frequently used devices were desktops and laptops. Low usage of smartphones for educational purpose among academics was reported. Email was the most common application used by academics for teaching and learning, followed by WhatsApp. The e-learning platform was poorly used; however, the lecturers still used it more compared with the clinical facilitators. Low usage was reported on other educational technologies included in the study. Most of the respondents reported a moderate to high experience with educational technology. More than two-thirds of the respondents used educational technology for enhancing their knowledge on current evidence of nursing, preparing for classes, preparing teaching materials, student contact and supervision and for facilitating/teaching in class. Time and institutional factors were mentioned to be important factors to consider when engaging with any educational technology. Finally, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and academic position were predictors of use of educational technology

Challenges faced by professional nurses in accessing information technology in health care facilities for healthcare delivery in northern KwaZulu-Natal.

Thesis (M.Med.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.Information Technology (IT) is revolutionizing every sphere of human interaction. IT has changed the way individuals communicate. In the healthcare system, information technologies are considered the key to addressing challenges to healthcare delivery such as shortages of healthcare professionals, and networking. Therefore, healthcare providers need to possess information technology skills, knowledge, and resources to communicate and manage information effectively and efficiently and also to be able to perform their duties adequately in such an information technology age. Nurses, the largest group of healthcare providers who spend the most time with patients, are also frontline healthcare managers and need to have access to IT and should be computer literate in order to perform their duties quickly and adequately. In South Africa, the health system has been slow in integrating IT into healthcare delivery, particularly in rural and remote areas where such services are most needed. A "digital divide" exists, by which access to computers and the internet remain a privilege, and many nurses are unable to use a computer even after completing the computer literacy courses. This study aims to investigate the challenges faced by professional nurses to access and use information technology in healthcare facilities after being trained. Data was collected through focus group discussions conducted with professional nurses from two regional and four district hospitals. Participants who had received computer training offered by the Department of Health were selected to ensure that issues beyond a lack of training could be explored. Focus group discussions were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Content analysis was used to identify themes from the transcriptions. Results show that professional nurses had little access to information technology. Reasons given were a lack of hardware and appropriate software, insufficient training and lack of support, irrelevance of the computer courses, and negative attitudes towards computers. Despite previous computer training, the professional nurses interviewed felt they lacked the skills to use computers confidently in their daily activities. The quality of the training was perceived as inadequate and irrelevant with a lack of ongoing support to cement new skills and build confidence. The provision of training workshops for nurses is not sufficient to ensure that IT will be used for healthcare delivery. On-going support an motivation, among others, are needed to encourage nurses to use IT efficiently