The association of nurses’ informatics competence with distress and information system-related stress

Abstract

Abstract Background Ability to use information systems is a crucial part of nurses' competence, but evidence on whether this competence is associated with stress among nurses is lacking. As part of the 'Towards socially inclusive digital society: Transforming service culture' (DigiIN, funded by the Strategic Research Council, project 327145), we examined the associations of registered nurses' informatics competence with distress and information systems related stress. Methods The data was collected in Finland with an electronic survey at the end of 2018. The sample comprised 1639 nurses. Analyses of covariance were used to examine whether the nurses' informatics competence was associated with distress and information system-related stress. In addition to overall informatics competence, we also examined the associations of four dimensions of informatics competence (terminology based documentation; e-documentation according to structured national headings; general IT competency; patient-related digital work) with dependent variables. Models were adjusted for age, gender and employment sector. Results Nurses' overall informatics competence was associated with lower distress (F = 9.90 p = 0.002), but not with information system-related stress. The analyses with four competence dimensions showed that patient-related digital work competence was associated both with lower distress (F = 3.95 p = 0.047) and information system-related stress (F = 4.63 p = 0.032). In addition, general IT competency was associated with information system-related stress (F = 12.6 p < 0.001). Conclusions Especially lack of patient-related digital work competence seems to stress nurses. Supporting nurses in patient-related digital work and improving nurses' general IT competency by training could decrease their stress related to information systems and improve their wellbeing. Key messages Nurses should be supported more in patient-related digital work. Nurses’ high IT competency is associated with lower stress, and thus, healthcare organizations may benefit from providing more IT training for nurses to decrease their stress levels.