Abstract
BackgroundThere is growing awareness of the role of information technology in evidence-based practice. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of organizational context and nurse characteristics in explaining variation in nurses’ use of personal digital assistants (PDAs) and mobile Tablet PCs for accessing evidence-based information. The Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (PARIHS) model provided the framework for studying the impact of providing nurses with PDA-supported, evidence-based practice resources, and for studying the organizational, technological, and human resource variables that impact nurses’ use patterns.MethodsA survey design was used, involving baseline and follow-up questionnaires. The setting included 24 organizations representing three sectors: hospitals, long-term care (LTC) facilities, and community organizations (home care and public health). The sample consisted of 710 participants (response rate 58%) at Time 1, and 469 for whom both Time 1 and Time 2 follow-up data were obtained (response rate 66%). A hierarchical regression model (HLM) was used to evaluate the effect of predictors from all levels simultaneously.ResultsThe Chi square result indicated PDA users reported using their device more frequently than Tablet PC users (p = 0.001). Frequency of device use was explained by ‘breadth of device functions’ and PDA versus Tablet PC. Frequency of Best Practice Guideline use was explained by ‘willingness to implement research,’ ‘structural and electronic resources,’ ‘organizational slack time,’ ‘breadth of device functions’ (positive effects), and ‘slack staff’ (negative effect). Frequency of Nursing Plus database use was explained by ‘culture,’ ‘structural and electronic resources,’ and ‘breadth of device functions’ (positive effects), and ‘slack staff’ (negative). ‘Organizational culture’ (positive), ‘breadth of device functions’ (positive), and ‘slack staff ‘(negative) were associated with frequency of Lexi/PEPID drug dictionary use.ConclusionAccess to PDAs and Tablet PCs supported nurses’ self-reported use of information resources. Several of the organizational context variables and one individual nurse variable explained variation in the frequency of information resource use.
Highlights
There is growing awareness of the role of information technology in evidence-based practice
Handheld personal digital assistants (PDAs) were more frequently used in hospitals, and Tablet PCs were more common in long-term care (LTC) and community settings
Research Questions Research question one The first research question asked, ‘What are the frequencies of use of the three nursing electronic resources?’ The results are summarized in Table 2 and 3
Summary
There is growing awareness of the role of information technology in evidence-based practice. An essential feature of information management is to ensure that the information is accessible at the times of decision making In nursing, this utilization has been constrained by limited ability to access evidence-based guidelines at the point of care; many vehicles are currently available to provide more rapid and pro-active dissemination and implementation of best evidence. This utilization has been constrained by limited ability to access evidence-based guidelines at the point of care; many vehicles are currently available to provide more rapid and pro-active dissemination and implementation of best evidence Information technologies, such as personal digital assistants (PDAs) and handheld computers (Tablet PCs), offer a solution for getting evidence to nurses directly at the point of care.
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