Electronic care planning and care worker engagement

Abstract

In the wider context of the advancement of digital technologies in healthcare, electronic care planning and recording systems are becoming increasingly prevalent in social care settings in the UK. At the same time, the engagement of employees is an important concern for senior managers of these services, where turnover rates are high and human resources are often scarce. This study researches the impact upon employees of the implementation of electronic care planning in two organisations running multiple social care services. Following a review of technology acceptance and engagement literature, hypothesised developments of technology enhanced engagement and concomitant increases in motivation, empowerment and productivity are researched. An exploratory sequential mixed methods approach is utilised, bringing together qualitative and quantitative data for analysis.Findings suggest that care planning technology produces a positive engagement impact, broadly confirming the hypotheses. Overall workforce engagement of both organisations studied is shown to be very high. Correlation analysis shows that, while not all employees recognise the engagement impact of the care planning technology, those who do also demonstrate the highest levels of motivation, empowerment and productivity. Demographic differences are evaluated as moderating influences, but are not found to be highly significant in this study.This is a cross-sectional short-range study, and recommendations for future longer-range and broader research are considered. In the light of the indicated engagement benefit of electronic care planning technology, implications for managers of services, application developers and social care workers are considered.