Abstract
Title. Factors influencing nurses’ attitudes towards the use of computerized health information systems in Kuwaiti hospitals Aim. This paper reports a survey of nurses’ attitudes towards computerized health information systems, the characteristics that influence these attitudes and the level of nurses’ skills in computer use. Background. The use of such systems in developed countries and in some developing countries has already become a reality. However, nurses as a group of care providers have been found to resist computerization, seeing computerized health information systems as dehumanizing, confusing and uncaring. Nurses with more computer experience tend to have more positive views; education and training positively influence attitudes; and younger and less experienced nurses may have more positive attitudes. Methods. A structured questionnaire was used to measure the attitudes of nurses working in Kuwait towards computerization. A random sample of 574 nurses working in Ministry of Health hospitals were sent a questionnaire, and 530 replies were received (response rate 92Æ3%). The data were collected from November 2002 to January 2003. Findings. Respondents generally had positive attitudes toward computerized health information systems. Analysis of variance revealed statistically significant differences in attitudes in relation to nationality, level of education, previous experience in computer use, and computer skills (P < 0Æ05). Multiple regression analysis showed that gender, nationality, education levels, and duration of computer use were statistically significant predictors of attitudes toward computerized health information systems (P < 0Æ05). Conclusion. With adequate computerized health information system training, the implementation of computerized health information systems could be effective for nurses in providing quality health care, as found in other studies.
Introduction
Computerized health information system (HIS) are expected to have a great impact on health care practice in the years to come (Goorman & Berg 2000). According to Dick and Steen (1991), HISs are ‘essential technology for health care today and in the future’, and will lead to a higher quality of health care, increase the scientific base of medicine and nursing, and reduce health care costs. The use of such systems in developed countries and in some developing countries has already become a reality. Nursing services is one area that has been greatly affected by computerization (Darbyshire 2004). Some degree of computer literacy is, therefore, becoming a job requirement in many health care facilities (Axford & Carter 1996, Lee et al. 2002).
Conclusion
The growing emphasis on the use of computerized HISs has serious implications for health care delivery systems. First, nurses are the frontline care providers and need to learn about the use of computer technology in their daily work. Our findings suggest that nurses who have had no previous experience of such systems should be provided with a carefully developed course on the use of computerized HISs. Secondly, those who have had previous computer use experience may be used as ‘key professionals’ within respective to units to assist in the orientation of their inexperienced colleagues.
