Perceptions of Turkish health professional students toward the effects of the internet of things (IOT) technology in the future

Abstract

AimThe aim of this study is to determine the perceptions of Turkish health professional students toward the effects of IoT technology. BackgroundThe twenty-first century has a potential for social, cultural, economic and even political changes due to technological developments. Students should be aware of new technological trends that will influence their profession in the future to be ready for them. DesignA descriptive and cross-sectional study. SettingsAt two well-established universities (a public and a private university) in a metropolitan city in Turkey with a total of 473 students. MethodsThe study was carried out using an information form and a foresight questionnaire for IoT developed by the researchers. The data were analyzed using parametric tests with SPSS. ResultsOf the participants, 70.8% were female, 81.6% were studying at a public university, 61.3% were senior nursing students, and 38.7% were senior medical students. A majority of the students stated that the IoT technology will affect future medical and nursing practices. The nursing students obtained the highest mean score on the item “Basic physical measurements such as blood sugar, heart rate and ECGs will be easier using IoT technology” (7.36 ± 2.27), and the lowest mean score (5.36 ± 2.82) on the item “Robot physicians and nurses developed through IoT technology will provide patient healthcare in the future”. The nursing and medical students' opinions regarding the future of IoT technology focused on the issues such as smart vital follow-up of patients, mobile health, patient data security, biomedical applications, wearable technologies, and nursing practices in chronic diseases and home care. ConclusionsThe results of this study indicated that IoT technology should be involved in nursing and medical education, and further studies should be conducted to integrate technological trends into healthcare and nursing practices. Implications for Nursing Practice and Health PoliciesThe future of IoT technology will focus on subjects such as vital follow-up of patients, monitoring patients with wearable technologies, and nursing practices in chronic diseases and home care. Competency in IoT technology should be included as a requirement in healthcare faculties' professional development policies and programs.