INTEGRATION OF TECHNOLOGY TO SUPPORT NURSNG PRACTICE: A SASKATCHEWAN INITIATIVE
Appropriation of information and communications technology (ICT) in the health care work environment is a significant challenge, especially for nursing personnel who focus on direct care and patient service. ICT is frequently viewed as detracting from the nurse-patient therapeutic relationship – a type of barrier to human contact. Further, nursing work environments have not traditionally included ICT and, more significantly, the nurses themselves have not been significant users of ICT. The potential of laptops and personal digital assistants (PDAs) to enhance the quality of work life for nurses through uptake of the technology to enhance access to information,, and evidence-informed practice of nurses within a select Saskatchewan health care environment, specifically, the All Nations Healing Hospital in Fort Qu’Appelle. The need for ICT uptake and integration in the health care workplace by nurses is an emergent theme within the literature.
This research contributes to an identified research gap related to the applications and implications of ICT within the Saskatchewan health care workplace, and addresses the trend towards incorporating ICT to support the work of health care professionals. This project is relevant to the field of learning as it builds on the characteristics of expansive learning environments for employees (Fuller & Unwin, 2004), recognizes and fosters opportunities for quality work life (Paloniemi, 2006), and values employee competence, skills, and learning (Fuller & Unwin, 2004). The research results will be shared in venues such as regional meetings, provincial sessions, and international conferences. The dissemination of results will occur through three primary avenues: publication in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at relevant conferences.
The objectives of the project will be to determine technical and educative requirements needed to initiate, maintain, and integrate a PDA and laptop system to wireless network within a health care environment in Saskatchewan; to use this network to enhance evidence-informed practices by nurses related to client/patient/community conditions; and to assess perceptions of the end-users (i.e., nurses) regarding the network in terms of its appropriation and contributions to quality of work life. The research assesses the impact of appropriation of technology by nurses in a Saskatchewan setting. The specific research questions are:
1. What are the health related technology protocols and educative requirements needed to initiate, maintain, and sustain a laptop/PDA to wireless network within a select health care environment in Saskatchewan?
2. How can laptops and PDAs enhance evidence informed practices and contribute to quality of work life for nurses?
3. What is the impact on client care?
4. What are the barriers and facilitators to the utilization of the technology in the select health care environment?
The methodology for this study will be a mixed methods collaborative action research approach. Through a ‘hands on’ training session and ongoing support in the format of workshops and a project website, the research team will enable the nurses to appropriate and incorporate the technology. The research will focus on comparative pre- and post- technology introduction quality of work life. A “Train the Trainee” guide will be developed to be used by staff following the completion of this project to educate other staff members and help with the sustainability of the project objectives. The anticipated outcomes of the program are as follows:
1. The first expected output will be a revised “Train the Trainee” manual inclusive of utilization of laptops and PDAs to wireless network technology in the health care environment. This guide has the potential to be used in the education of other staff following the completion of this research project;
2. The second expected output will be a model for health information capture which will transect areas of care, quality, health human resource planning, and research capacity. The project will highlight opportunities to integrate laptops and PDAs into a number of areas of practice, professional development administration, and research; and
3. The third expected output will be dissemination of results which will outline the model used and the experiences of the project, in order to facilitate the introduction and uptake of ICT technology in other health care environments in Saskatchewan. Articles and presentations may include a series of vignettes (short stories) from the nurses regarding quality of work life.
The project will occur from March to August, 2009 with Jaime Mantesso Partyka as the intern for the project. For more information on Accelerate, click on the following link: