Improving the nursing informatics competency of critical care nurses: results of an interventional study
Abstract Background Along with growth and development of health information technology (HIT), nursing informatics (NI) is becoming a fundamental part of all domains of nursing practice especially in critical care settings. Nurses at different levels of the nursing continuum are expected to equip with NI competency for providing patient-centered evidence-based care. Therefore, improvement of the nurses’ NI competency through educational programs is important and necessary for effective using of HIT. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of a training program on NI competency of critical care nurses. Methods In this interventional study, 60 nurses working in critical care units at hospitals affiliated with a large University of Medical Sciences in the southeast of Iran were randomly and equally assigned to the control and intervention groups. NI competency was trained to the intervention group in a three-day workshop. Data were collected using demographic questionnaire and Nursing Informatics Competency Assessment Tool (NICAT) before and one month after the intervention. Results In the pretest stage, both intervention and control groups were at the “competent” level in terms of the NI competency, and no significant difference was observed between them ( p =0.65). However, in the posttest, the NI competency and its dimensions significantly increased in the intervention group with a large effect size compared with the control group ( p = 0.001). This difference showed that the intervention group achieved the “proficient” level in posttest stage. Conclusions The improved scores of NI competency and its dimensions after using the training program implied the effectiveness of this method in enhancing the NI competency of nurses working in the critical care units. The higher efficiency of the training program can be determined by its application in diverse domains of nursing practice. The project is a fundamental for improving nurses’ NI competency through continuous educational programs in Iran, other cultures and contexts.