Improving the informatics competency of critical care nurses: results of an interventional study in the southeast of Iran

Nurse informaticists' role in promoting health equity

ABSTRACT

Nurse informaticists (NIs) play a pivotal role in addressing health-related social needs through integrating technology into electronic health records. NIs navigate regulatory landscapes, emphasizing screening for social determinants of health during hospital encounters. This article underscores NIs' strategic contributions to optimizing data collection, supporting health equity, and utilizing innovative technologies to bridge gaps in healthcare outcomes.

Educational interventions and their effects on healthcare professionals' digital competence development: A systematic review

INTRODUCTION

The digitalisation of healthcare requires that healthcare professionals are equipped with adequate digital competencies to be able to deliver high-quality healthcare. Continuing professional education is needed to ensure these competencies.

OBJECTIVE

This systematic review aimed to identify and describe the educational interventions that have been developed to improve various aspects of the digital competence of healthcare professionals and the effects of these interventions.

METHODS

A systematic literature review following the Joanna Briggs Institute's guidelines for Evidence Synthesis was conducted. Five electronic databases (CINAHL, PubMed, ProQuest, Scopus and Medic) up to November 2023 were searched for studies. Two researchers independently assessed the eligibility of the studies by title, abstract and full text and the methodological quality of the studies. Data tabulation and narrative synthesis analysis of study findings were performed. The PRISMA checklist guided the review process.

RESULTS

This review included 20 studies reporting heterogeneous educational interventions to develop the digital competence of healthcare professionals. The participants were mainly nurses and interventions were conducted in various healthcare settings. The length of the education varied from a 20-minute session to a six-month period. Education was offered through traditional contact teaching, using a blended-learning approach and through videoconference. Learning was enhanced through lectures, slide presentations, group work, case studies, discussions and practical exercises or simulations. Educational interventions achieved statistically significant results regarding participants' knowledge, skills, attitudes, perception of resources, self-efficacy or confidence and output quality.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings of this review suggest that digital competence education of nurses and allied health professionals would benefit from a multi-method approach. Training should provide knowledge as well as opportunities to interact with peers and instructors. Skills and confidence should be enhanced through practical training. Adequate organisational support, encouragement, and individual, needs-based guidance should be provided.

Nursing informatics competency and its associated factors among palliative care nurses: an online survey in mainland China

BACKGROUND

Nursing informatics (NI) competency is a required core competency for high-quality care in digitally enabled healthcare environments. Given the increasing reliance on digital health in palliative care settings, it becomes crucial to evaluate the NI competency of nurses to ensure the seamless integration and effective utilization of digital health in their clinical practice. This study aimed to investigate the level of NI competency and explore its associated factors among palliative care nurses in mainland China.

METHODS

A cross-sectional design was conducted for this study, involving a total of 409 palliative care nurses from 302 hospitals in mainland China. Anonymous data were collected through a self-designed sociodemographic questionnaire, the Nursing Informatics Competency Scale (NICS) and the Innovative Self-Efficacy Scale.

RESULTS

The total score of the NICS was 129.19 ± 22.02, which indicated that Chinese palliative care nurses had a moderate level of NI competency. There was a positive correlation between innovative self-efficacy and NI competency (r = 0.602, P < 0.01). The hospital level and innovative self-efficacy were identified as statistically significant factors influencing nurses' NI competency based on multiple linear regression analysis results. These associated factors could explain 35.1% of the difference in NI competency.

CONCLUSIONS

This study found that palliative care nurses in mainland China exhibited moderate levels of NI competency and identified the hospital level and innovative self-efficacy as associated factors of nurses' NI competency. Measures such as developing supported strategies, including targeted NI training programs by nursing education managers of primary-level hospitals and creating a positive culture of innovation by healthcare institutions can be considered to improve the level of NI competency among Chinese palliative care nurses.

Examining the Effect of an Educational Program on Nursing Students' Informatics Competencies

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to determine the effect of a two-day education program on the informatics competencies of undergraduate nursing students. A one-group pretest-posttest design was employed using a convenience sample of 83 students. SANICS-18 (Self-Assessment of Nursing Informatics Competencies Scale) items were used to measure nursing informatics competencies. The pretest findings indicated a low overall score for nursing informatics competencies, with applied computer skills being the lowest self-reported competency subscale (clinical informatics). Following implementation of the education program, nursing students' general informatics competencies improved. The findings suggest that nursing programs should provide continuing nursing informatics training and integrate skills and competencies within the nursing curriculum.

Cultural competence in critical care nurses and its relationships with empathy, job conflict, and work engagement: a cross-sectional descriptive study

BACKGROUND

Cultural competence is more important than ever for nurses today; therefore, it may be helpful to learn more about it and examine how it relates to empathy, job conflict, and work engagement. The purpose of this study was to determine (a) the level of cultural competence, empathy, job conflict, and work engagement; (b) the relationship between cultural competence, demographic information, and main variables; (c) the predictors of cultural competence among critical care nurses.

METHODS

A multicenter, descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in Iran from August to October 2022. Through convenience sampling, 153 critical care nurses from three hospitals participated. The research tool consisted of five parts: Demographic information questionnaire, Cultural Competence Questionnaire, Jefferson Scale Empathy, Dobrin Job Conflict, and Utrecht Work Engagement, which were collected by paper self-report. Descriptive statistics, the correlation between variables, and linear regression were used to analyze the data.

RESULTS

Among critical care nurses (response rate 79.27%), the mean (SD) scores for cultural competence, empathy, job conflict, and work engagement were 74.05 (7.96), 83.44 (29.17), 11.00 (2.38), and 43.69 (16.33), respectively. There was a significant correlation between cultural competence and age (r = 0.46, p = 0.001), marital status (r = 0.27, p = 0.004), academic degree (r = 0.44, p = 0.001), work experiences (r = 0.43, p = 0.001), empathy (r = 0.50, p = 0.001), and job conflict (r=-0.16, p = 0.049). Academic degree (β = 0.36, p < 0.001) and empathy (β = 0.26, p < 0.001) were significant explanatory variables that predict cultural competence.

CONCLUSION

In Iranian critical care nurses, cultural competence and job conflict were moderate, empathy was good, and work engagement was poor. There was a significant relationship between cultural competence, age, marital status, academic degree, work experiences, empathy, and job conflict. Academic degree and empathy predict cultural competence.

[Pathway Analysis on the Effects of Nursing Informatics Competency, Nursing Care Left Undone, and Nurse Reported Quality of Care on Nursing Productivity among Clinical Nurses]

PURPOSE

Nursing informatics competency is used to manage and improve the delivery of safe, high-quality, and efficient healthcare services in accordance with best practices and professional and regulatory standards. This study examined the relationship between nursing informatics competency (NIC), nursing care left undone, and nurse reported quality of care (NQoC) and nursing productivity. A path model for their effects on nursing productivity among clinical nurses was also established.

METHODS

Data were collected using structured questionnaires answered by 192 nurses working in a tertiary hospital located in J city, Korea, and analyzed using SPSS/WIN 23.0 and AMOS 21.0 program.

RESULTS

The fit indices of the alternative path model satisfied recommended levels χ² = .11 (p = .741), normed χ² (χ²/df) = .11, SRMR = .01, RMSEA = .00, GFI = 1.00, NFI = 1.00, AIC = 18.11. Among the variables, NIC (β = .44, p < .001), NQoC (β = .35, p < .001) had a direct effect on nursing productivity. Due to the mediating effect of NQoC on the relationship between NIC and nursing productivity, the effect size was .14 (95% CI .08~.24). Meanwhile, nursing care left undone through NQoC in the relationship between NIC and nursing productivity, has a significant mediation effect (estimate .01, 95% CI .00~.03). The explanatory power of variables was 44.0%.

CONCLUSION

Education and training for enhancing NIC should be provided to improve nursing productivity, quality of care and to reduce missed nursing care. Furthermore, monitoring the quality of nursing care and using it as a productivity index is essential.

Nursing informatics skills relevance and competence for final year nursing students

BACKGROUND

 The increasing use of technology in nursing practice requires nursing students to be competent in nursing informatics with an attitude of acceptance of technology in the healthcare environment.

OBJECTIVES

 The objectives of the study were to determine final year nursing students' perceptions and skills in nursing informatics and their attitudes towards computerisation in nursing practice.

METHOD

 The study population were 198 final year nursing students from a selected university in the Western Cape, South Africa. All-inclusive sampling was used. A descriptive survey was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire which included two validated scales, namely the validated Nursing Informatics Competency Assessment Tool (NICAT) and the Nurses' Attitudes towards Computerisation scale. Means and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of the ratings of the perceived relevance of nursing informatics skills in nursing practice, perceived levels of competence in nursing informatics skills and attitudes towards computers were calculated.

RESULTS

 A total of 91 undergraduate respondents completed the survey. Computer literacy skills were rated overall as most relevant (4.23, 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 4.06-4.40) and the skills perceived most competent (4.16, 95% CI: 3.81-4.22). The respondents had an overall positive score for attitudes towards computerisation in healthcare (67.34, s.d. = 10.40, 95% CI: 65.18-69.51).

CONCLUSION

 The study concluded that computer literacy skills, informatics literacy skills and information management skills were relevant to nursing practice, despite varying levels of competence in these skills among nurses.Contribution: What key insights into the research results and its future function are revealed? How do these insights link to the focus and scope of the journal? It should be a concise statement of the primary contribution of the manuscript; and how it fits within the scope of the journal.

Digital Health Competencies Among Health Care Professionals: Systematic Review

Background

Digitalization is not fully implemented in clinical practice, and several factors have been identified as possible barriers, including the competencies of health care professionals. However, no summary of the available evidence has been provided to date to depict digital health competencies that have been investigated among health care professionals, the tools used in assessing such competencies, and the effective interventions to improve them.

Objective

This review aims to summarize digital health competencies investigated to date and the tools used to assess them among health care professionals.

Methods

A systematic review based on the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) checklist was performed. The MEDLINE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PsycINFO, and Scopus databases were accessed up to September 4, 2021. Studies assessing digital health competencies with quantitative designs, targeting health care professionals, and written in English were included. The methodological quality of included studies was evaluated using the Joanna Briggs Institute tools.

Results

A total of 26 studies, published from 1999 to 2021, met the inclusion criteria, and the majority were cross sectional in design, while only 2 were experimental study designs. Most studies were assessed with moderate to low methodological quality; 4 categories and 9 subcategories of investigated digital health competencies have been identified. The most investigated category was “Self-rated competencies,” followed by “Psychological and emotional aspects toward digital technologies,” “Use of digital technologies,” and “Knowledge about digital technologies.” In 35% (9/26) of the studies, a previously validated tool was used to measure the competencies assessed, while others developed ad hoc questionnaires.

Conclusions

Mainly descriptive studies with issues regarding methodology quality have been produced to date investigating 4 main categories of digital health competencies mostly with nonvalidated tools. Competencies investigated might be considered while designing curricula for undergraduate, postgraduate, and continuing education processes, whereas the methodological lacks detected might be addressed with future research. There is a need to expand research on psychological and emotional elements and the ability to use digital technology to self-learn and teach others.

Trial Registration

PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews CRD42021282775; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=282775

The Relationship Between Nursing Informatics Competency and Clinical Decision-Making Among Nurses in West Bank, Palestine

This study aimed to examine the relationship between nursing informatics competencies and clinical decision-making by taking into account nurses' individual characteristics and job-related characteristics. A cross-sectional design was used. The cluster random sampling method was adopted to select 14 governmental hospitals in West Bank, Palestine, in which all nurses in these hospitals were invited to participate in this study. Results found that the total mean (SD) score for the nursing informatics competency scale was 2.6 (0.88), which indicates that the nurses had lower nursing informatics competency, and the informatics skills subscale had the lowest mean score (mean [SD], 2.4 [1.00]). Concerning clinical decision-making, the total mean (SD) score was 2.59 (0.38), which indicates that the nurses had lower clinical decision-making. Regarding clinical decision-making subscales, searching for information and unbiased assimilation of new information had the highest mean score (mean [SD], 2.64 [0.39]); on the contrary, the canvassing of objectives and values subscale had the lowest mean score (mean [SD], 2.53 [0.38]). Nursing informatics competency had a positive relationship with clinical decision-making. Thus, it is necessary to enhance nurses' informatics competency, especially informatics skills and clinical decision-making, by developing training programs about this technology directed to nurses.

Polish Nurses' Attitude to e-Health Solutions and Self-Assessment of Their IT Competence

In many countries, the implementation and dissemination of e-services for healthcare systems are important aspects of projects and strategies, as they contribute to significantly improving the access to such a system. The aim of the study is to analyze nurses' opinions on the application of the e-health solutions at work and the self-assessment of their IT competence. A linear stepwise regression allowed for the visualization of independent variables significantly influencing considerably the level of IT competency. Reduced IT competency was found in the group of nurses who rated the impact of the Internet and the new technologies as lower on the health care and general lives of modern people (β = 0.203; p < 0.0001), recommended e-health solutions to a lesser extent (β = 0.175; p < 0.0001), rated e-health solutions lower in relation to the patient (β = 0.149; p < 0.0001), and were older in age (β = 0.095; p = 0.0032). IT competence has become an indispensable requirement for nurses in fulfilling their professional roles. The quality of using new technologies in the work of nurses depends on their IT competence.

Impact of Nursing Professionalism on Perception of Patient Privacy Protection in Nursing Students: Mediating Effect of Nursing Informatics Competency

In recent times, as the healthcare system becomes more informational, the importance of patient privacy protection increases, making it necessary to identify factors that affect the perception of patient privacy protection. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between nursing professionalism and the perception of patient privacy protection and the mediating role of nursing informatics competency. The study recruited 242 nursing students who had experienced dealing with patient information during clinical practice. The mediating model using the Hayes’ PROCESS macro (Model 4) was employed to test the study hypothesis. Nursing professionalism was found to be positively and significantly associated with the perception of patient privacy protection (β = 0.09, p = 0.021) with the mediation of nursing informatics (β = 0.18, p < 0.001). Our findings showed that nursing professionalism and nursing informatics competency determined the perception of patient privacy protection. The mediating role of nursing informatics competency implies that curricula designed to enhance nursing informatics competency of nursing students may increase their perception of patient privacy protection.

Assessing the effect of virtual education on information literacy competency for evidence-based practice among the undergraduate nursing students

Background

Information literacy competency is one of the requirements to implement Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) in nursing. It is necessary to pay attention to curricular development and use new educational methods such as virtual education to strengthen information literacy competency in nursing students. Given the scarcity of the studies on the effectiveness of virtual education in nursing, particularly in Iran, and the positive university atmosphere regarding the use of virtual education, this study investigated the effect of virtual education on the undergraduate nursing students’ information literacy competency for EBP.

Methods

This interventional study was performed with two groups of intervention and control and a pretest and posttest design. Seventy-nine nursing students were selected and assigned to the intervention or control groups by random sampling. Virtual education of the information literacy was uploaded on a website in the form of six modules delivered in four weeks. Questionnaires of demographic information and information literacy for EBP were used to collect data before and one month after the virtual education.

Results

The results showed no significant difference between the control and intervention groups in all dimensions of information literacy competency in the pre-test stage. In the post-test, the virtual education improved dimensions of information seeking skills (t = 3.14, p = 0.002) and knowledge about search operators (t = 39.84, p = 0.001) in the intervention groups compared with the control group. The virtual education did not have any significant effect on the use of different information resources and development of search strategy with assessing the frequency of selecting the most appropriate search statement in the intervention group.

Conclusion

Virtual education had a significant effect on information seeking skills and knowledge about search operators in nursing students. Nurse educators can benefit from our experiences in designing this method for the use of virtual education programs in nursing schools. Given the lack of effectiveness of this program in using different information resources and development of search strategy, nurse educators are recommended to train information literacy for EBP by integrating several approaches such as virtual (online and offline) and face-to-face education.

Designing a national model for assessment of nursing informatics competency

Background

Due to the need for informatics competencies in the field of nursing, the present study was conducted to design a psychometric instrument to determine the qualification of informatics competencies of employed nurses in educational care centers.

Methods

The questionnaire was made by reviewing existing scientific resources and assessment tools. Two hundred nurses were selected using simple random sampling. Structural equation modeling was used using the measurement model technique and the average variance was calculated. Linear structural relations (LISREL) software was used to test the assumptions and correlations of the model.

Results

Findings showed relatively good estimation in the fit of first-order measurement model. The informatics knowledge subscale with a determining rate of 0.90 had the greatest explanatory effect among the subscales and informatics skill with a determining rate of 0.67 and basic computer skill with a determining rate of 0.60 were observed. The second-order measurement model of fitness indicators showed that the three factors can well explain the multidimensional construct of informatics competency.

Conclusions

The designed tool can be used to develop educational strategies in relation to nursing students in the field of informatics and prepare them in the rich environment of information technology, which can be helpful in training nursing instructors.