Use of digital technology as a collaborative tool among nursing students — Survey study and validation

Abstract

Background: This research aimed to develop a questionnaire to analyze perceived aspects of using digital technology among nursing students as a collaborative tool. We further sought to evaluate the psychometric reliability of the instrument. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was performed using a questionnaire developed from scratch. Psychometric studies and univariate and bivariate analyses were performed. Results: 132 nursing students participated. The exploratory and confirmatory analyses of the questionnaire excluded 4 of the initial 18 items and established four domains, and internal consistency was found. The mean global score of the answers to the questionnaire was 4.67 on a scale of 1–5 points, and all the domains obtained high scores. Men scored higher on the usefulness and the global score, while no differences were found regarding age. Conclusions: Nursing students positively assess the use of digital technology as a collaborative tool, regardless of age. Digital technology as a collaborative tool is perceived as beneficial, improves their involvement, and allows nursing students to obtain a better knowledge of their partners. These findings can help develop group projects and tools based on technology to train future nursing professionals. The questionnaire developed is a valid tool to assess this