ATTITUDE AND UTILIZATION OF HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN NURSING CARE AMONG NURSES AT RIVERS STATE UNIVERSITY TEACHING HOSPITAL, PORTHARCOURT, RIVERS STATE.
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Health information technology (HIT) is the use of information technology gadgets to facilitate healthcare. In nursing, HIT can be applied in record keeping, telenursing, medication administration and communication between the members of the health care team. The aim of this study is to assess the attitude and utilization of Health information technology in nursing care among nurses at the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital. Population of the study was 182. Three objectives, three research questions and one hypothesis were postulated to guide the study. The study was a descriptive cross-sectional survey research, using a researcher-structured questionnaire. Simple random sampling method was used to select 125 respondents. Data was coded and analyzed using the Statistical Product and Service Solution (SPSS 28.0). Descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, mean and standard deviation were used to summarize and present data. The findings of this study showed a significant level of positive feeling among nurses towards HIT. Again, there was utilization of HIT at the Rivers State University teaching hospital; however, there was low level of utilization in nursing care. Factors such as: “Health information technology equipment is expensive (60%)” and Poor organizational policy on Health information technology use for nurses (76%)” influenced the utilization of HIT. The null hypothesis was not accepted as there was significant or p value of 0.000 which is less than 0.05. The study revealed that the attitude of the nurses towards health information technology influenced its utilization. It is therefore recommended that appropriate actions are taken by hospitals, nursing administrators and government to ensure HIT utilization in nursing care through health provider training, establishment of policies that support HIT utilization in nursing and provision of HIT equipment.
Keywords: Nursing care, Health information technology, attitude, utilization
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