Effortlessness and Security: Nurses' Positive Experiences With Work-Related Information Technology Use.

Nurses' well-being at work has been an increasing concern the past few years, in particular in connection with work-related information technology use. Researchers have thus been called to explore ways of fostering nurses' well-being at work. However, little is known about the factors related to information technology that contribute to nurses' positive experience of and well-being at work. In this study, we sought to understand the appraisals and emotions at the core of nurses' positive experiences with information technology use at work. We conducted focus groups and semistructured interviews with 15 ward nurses working at a large Swedish hospital. The data were analyzed qualitatively using process and causation coding. We found appraisals of easy goal accomplishment, doing less of a particular task, knowing what the situation is and what has to be done, mastering the system, reduced risk of mistakes and omissions, and assured access to patient information. Using design theory, we connected these appraisals with four positive emotions: joy, relief, confidence, and relaxation. These findings suggest that effortlessness and security are central to nurses' positive experience of information technology. Implementing information technology-related features and practices associated with them in healthcare organizations may foster nurses' well-being at work.

Negative Emotions Induced by Work-Related Information Technology Use in Hospital Nursing.

There is a lack of research into the implications of information technology-related issues for nurses' experiences and well-being at work. However, negative work experiences can generate negative emotions, which, in turn, can negatively affect well-being. Despite this, research has not systematically addressed negative emotions generated by work-related information technology use in hospital nursing. Drawing on data collected through focus groups and interviews with a total of 15 ward nurses, this paper identifies the discrete negative emotions that emerge from work-related information technology use in hospital nursing and maps the identified emotions onto the perceptions associated with and triggering them. The analysis was qualitative and included process, emotion, and causation coding alongside extensive memo writing. We identified six primary negative emotions: frustration, moral distress, alienation, psychological distress, anxiety, and perplexity. All of the identified emotions can be associated with four types of experiences of feeling hindered: mental effort, inability to carry out a task, doing extra or unnecessary work, and failing to complete a task successfully. The framework we present may support healthcare organizations in identifying potentially harmful information technology-related configurations in their infrastructure and implementing appropriate measures to foster nurses' well-being at work.

Information technology use and tasks left undone by nursing staff: A qualitative analysis.

Nursing staff perceive information technology (IT) as time-consuming and impinging on direct patient care time. Despite this, researchers have directed little attention toward the interplay between IT use and tasks left undone by nursing staff. In this paper, we analyze interview and focus group data on hospital nursing staff's experience working with IT to identify ways IT use interacts with tasks left undone. We found that tasks left undone by nursing staff can have IT-related antecedents and that IT-related tasks are also sometimes left undone. This analysis adds to the body of knowledge by showing that tasks related to the work environment and IT can be left undone and that nursing staff avoid certain IT-supported tasks because they do not know how to do them or why they ought to be done. These findings form the basis for our call for further research on the topic.

Effects of patient accessible electronic health records on nurses' work environment: a survey study on expectations in Sweden.

OBJECTIVES: The introduction of information and communication technology influences the work environment of large groups of employees in healthcare. In Sweden, a national healthcare service providing patient accessible electronic health records (PAEHR) has been deployed, and this paper investigates nurses' expected effects of this implementation. SETTING: Nurses associated with the Swedish Association of Health Professionals working in healthcare such as primary care, hospitals and midwives in Sweden. Before a full-scale national implementation of PAEHR, a web survey study was distributed nationally. The respondents represented all 21 Swedish regions. Questions included five-point Likert scale questions and open questions. PARTICIPANTS: A survey link was distributed via email to 8460 registered nurses, midwives and union representatives in Sweden. The response rate was 35.4% (2867 respondents: registered nurses 84%; midwives 6%; chief position 5%; in projects 2% and other 3%). Three reminders were sent out, all of them increasing the response rate. A majority of the respondents were female (89.9%), 8.4% male, whereas 1.7% did not indicate their gender. 31.4% were under 40 years old, 53.8% 40-59 and 13.7% over 60. RESULTS: Data were analysed using exploratory factor analysis with principal component analysis as the extraction method. The analysis revealed three distinct factors related to nurses' expectations of PAEHR: (1) PAEHR improves the quality of care, (2) PAEHR improves the quality of the work environment and (3) risk and fears concerning patients' well-being. Some interesting results include that more experienced nurses are more favourable to PAEHR. Our analysis also shows that the view of the nurse-patient relationship is an essential underlying factor related to positive or negative expectations. CONCLUSIONS: Results show that the expectations and perceptions of PAEHR vary depending on the nurse's view of who the electronic record belongs to. Younger nurses are somewhat more negative towards PAEHR than older nurses.