The role of organizational context and individual nurse characteristics in explaining variation in use of information technologies in evidence based practice
Date
2012-12-31
Authors
Doran, Diane
Haynes, Brian R
Estabrooks, Carole A
Kushniruk, Andre
Dubrowski, Adam
Bajinok, Irmajean
Hall, Linda McGillis
Li, Mingyang
Carryer, Jennifer
Jedras, Dawn
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
BioMed Central
Abstract
Abstract
Background: There 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.
Methods: A 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.
Results: The 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.
Conclusion: Access 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.
Description
BioMed Central
Keywords
Health information technologies, Mobile technology, Personal digital assistant, Nursing informatics, Information-seeking, Organizational context, Evidence-based practice, PARIHS model
Citation
Doran, D., Haynes, B., Estabrooks, C., Kushniruk, A., Dubrowski, A., Bajnok, I., . . . Bai, Y. Q. (2012). The role of organizational context and individual nurse characteristics in explaining variation in use of information technologies in evidence based practice. Implementation Science, 7(1), 122