Digital Literacy among Nurses Working in a University Hospital

Abstract

Introduction Digital literacy plays a crucial role in enhancing communication, work, and the improvement of patient care processes to maximize effectiveness and efficiency. Therefore, it is vital for nurses to possess digital literacy in their nursing practices. 

Objectives 1) To describe frequency of digital technology usage and digital literacy levels among nurses, 2) To compare digital literacy based on job positions, 3) To compare digital literacy based on job characteristics, and 4) To examine the correlation between digital literacy and work experience in nurses. 

Design Descriptive design 

Methodology The participants included 530 nurses with at least one year of work experience from the nursing department of a university hospital. Convenience sampling was employed to select the participants. The instruments consisted of four parts: demographic data, experiences with digital technology, digital literacy levels, and barriers encompassing needs and suggestions for digital technology use. The questionnaire was distributed to the participants through a Google form during September-October 2022. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, including Independent t-test and Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation.

Results The majority of participants were registered nurses (86.4%), with over 20 years of experience (38.3%) in direct care (90.2%), and used digital technology daily (63.2%). Participants had a moderate level of digital literacy (46.9%). There were no significant differences in overall digital literacy and its subscales between nurse administrators and practitioners, except for the use of digital media creation programs (t = -3.890, p < .001). Similarly, overall digital literacy and its subscales were not significantly different between nurses with clinical and non-clinical related works, except for the use of digital media creation programs (t = 3.448, p = .001) and word processors (t = -1.983, p = .048). Digital literacy was found to be negatively correlated with work experience (r = -.471, p < .001). 

Recommendations Nurse administrators can utilize digital literacy information to plan Individual Development Plans (IDPs) suitable for job positions and characteristics of nurses. Additionally, they should focus on enhancing the use of digital media creation programs for those with long-term work experience.