Abstract
Globally nursing practice changed in 2020 with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and a rapid increase in the use of digital health technologies by nurses. This 2022 study is part of a wider international project investigating nurses’ use and perception of digital technologies during the COVID-19 pandemic with data collected through an anonymous online survey of nurses. This paper reports on the Aotearoa New Zealand arm of the study where 191 nurses from a range of clinical settings, including acute hospital care, mental health and addiction services, and community care, completed the online survey. The majority of technologies used by nurses were online communication tools (n=48; 29.5%), electronic patient records (n=41; 25.2%), or patient monitoring/data sharing (n=40; 24.5%). Nearly two thirds of the nurses (n=62; 61%) considered they had received sufficient training to use the technology effectively. Nurses rated usability of systems using the System Usability Scale (SUS) and patient monitoring/data sharing systems and electronic prescribing achieved scores above 70, indicating good usability. However, electronic patient records had the lowest System Usability Scale score suggesting these were not found to be as easy to use as other technologies. Recommendations from this work include that nurse leaders and academics also need to consider the digital health technologies training and education needs to ensure an appropriately trained workforce. Furthermore, it is recommended that the international collaborative work continues as this may assist in planning and preparing New Zealand and international nurses for use of digital health now and for future pandemic events.
I panoni ngā tikanga mahi tapuhi i te tau 2020, i te pānga o te urutā COVID-19, me te pikinga hohoro o te whakamahinga o ngā hangarau hauora matihiko e ngā tapuhi. He wāhanga tēnei rangahau mai i 2022 nō tētahi rangahau ā-ao whānui kē atu e tūhura nei i te whakamahinga me ngā whakaaro o ngā tapuhi mō ngā hangarau matihiko i te wā o te urutā COVID-19. i kohia mā ētahi raraunga mai i tētahi uiuinga ipurangi ingoa-muna o ngā tapuhi. Ka tuku pūrongo tēnei tuhinga mō te wāhanga o Aotearoa o tēnei rangahau, i whakaotingia ai te uiuinga ipurangi e ētahi tapuhi 191 mai i te huhua o ngā horopaki tiaki tūroro, tae atu ki te tiaki mate hōhipera taumaha, ngā ratonga hauora hinengaro, waranga hoki, me te tiaki hapori. Ko te nuinga o ngā hangarau i whakamahia e ngā tapuhi ko ngā taputapu whakawhiti kōrero tuihono (n=48; 29.5%), ngā rēkoata tūroro matihiko (n=41; 25.2%), te aroturuki tūroro matihiko/whakawhiti raraunga matihiko rānei (n=40; 24.5%). Tata ki te rua hautoru o ngā tapuh i kī (n=62; 61%) i rahi anō ngā whakangungu i a rātou i whai hua ai tā rātou whakamahi i aua hangarau. I whakatau ngā tapuhi i te ngāwari o ngā pūnaha ki te whakamahi mā te whakamahi i te Inenga Ngāwaritanga Whakamahi Pūnaha [System Usability Scale] (SUS) ā, i tohua ngā pūnaha arotake tūroro/whakawhiti raraunga me te whakahau rongoā matihiko ki ngā tatau neke atu i te 70, heoi anō, he tohu tēnei he pai te ngāwari o te whakamahi. Ahakoa tērā, ko ngā pūkete tūroro matihiko i pāpaku rawa te Inenga Ngāwaritanga Whakamahi Pūnaha [System Usability Scale], ā, te āhua nei kāore ēnei i rite ki tērā atu hangarau ki te whakamahi. Ko ngā tūtohu whai muri i ēnei mahi, kia āta whakaaro ngā kaihautū tapuhi me ngā kairangahau mō te taha whakangungu hangarau hauora matihiko, me ngā hiahia akoranga, kia tika ai te whakaputa ohu kaimahi i āta whakangungua. Waihoki, ko te tūtohu kia haere tonu ngā mahi pāhekoheko ā-ao nā te mea mā konei ka pai ake te whakamahere me te whakatikatika i ngā tapuhi o Aotearoa, o te ao hoki mō te hauora matihiko o nāianei, me ngā urutā o raurangi.