Validation of the Impact of Health Information Technology (I-HIT) Scale: an international collaborative.

In 2005, the Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Nursing Informatics Community developed a survey to measure the impact of health information technology (HIT), the I-HIT Scale, on the role of nurses and interdisciplinary communication in hospital settings. In 2007, nursing informatics colleagues from Australia, England, Finland, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland and the United States formed a research collaborative to validate the I-HIT across countries. All teams have completed construct and face validation in their countries. Five out of six teams have initiated reliability testing by practicing nurses. This paper reports the international collaborative's validation of the I-HIT Scale completed to date.

Development and psychometric evaluation of the Impact of Health Information Technology (I-HIT) scale.

OBJECTIVE: The use of health information technology (HIT) for the support of communication processes and data and information access in acute care settings is a relatively new phenomenon. A means of evaluating the impact of HIT in hospital settings is needed. The purpose of this research was to design and psychometrically evaluate the Impact of Health Information Technology scale (I-HIT). I-HIT was designed to measure the perception of nurses regarding the ways in which HIT influences interdisciplinary communication and workflow patterns and nurses' satisfaction with HIT applications and tools. DESIGN: Content for a 43-item tool was derived from the literature, and supported theoretically by the Coiera model and by nurse informaticists. Internal consistency reliability analysis using Cronbach's alpha was conducted on the 43-item scale to initiate the item reduction process. Items with an item total correlation of less than 0.35 were removed, leaving a total of 29 items. MEASUREMENTS: Item analysis, exploratory principal component analysis and internal consistency reliability using Cronbach's alpha were used to confirm the 29-item scale. RESULTS: Principal components analysis with Varimax rotation produced a four-factor solution that explained 58.5% of total variance (general advantages, information tools to support information needs, information tools to support communication needs, and workflow implications). Internal consistency of the total scale was 0.95 and ranged from 0.80-0.89 for four subscales. CONCLUSION: I-HIT demonstrated psychometric adequacy and is recommended to measure the impact of HIT on nursing practice in acute care settings.

Surveying acute care providers in the U.S. to explore the impact of HIT on the role of nurses and interdisciplinary communication in acute care settings.

In 2005, the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society's Nursing Informatics Task Force surveyed acute care providers across the United States to explore the impact of health information technology on the role of nurses and interdisciplinary communication in acute care settings. More than 1,700 healthcare professionals responded to the online survey and provided numerous insights into the impact that clinical information systems have in their daily communication and workflow patterns. This paper provides an overview of survey results from four large healthcare delivery systems with a focus on how the results will be employed to support an evidence-based approach to improving acute care IT systems across the following healthcare delivery systems: Partners and Lifespan Health Systems in the Northeast, Baptist Health South Florida in the Southeast, and Providence HealthSystem in the Northwest.A case study approach is employed to describe survey findings at the healthcare system level and then provide a set of recommendations to leverage findings to capitalize on the strengths of existing IT applications and tools, and work towards overcoming barriers to interdisciplinary communication or acute care workflows.

Exploring the impact of health information technology on communication and collaboration in acute care nursing.

A focus group using nursing informatics experts as informants was conducted to guide development of a survey to explore the impact of health information technology on the role of nurses and interdisciplinary communication in acute care settings. Through analysis of focus group transcripts, five key themes emerged: information, communication, care coordination, interdisciplinary relationships, workflow, and practice effectiveness and efficiency. This served as the basis for development of a survey that will investigate perceptions of acute care providers across the United States regarding the impact of health information technology on the role of nurses and interdisciplinar communication in acute care settings. The purpose of this paper is to describe the process of survey development including analysis of transcripts, emergence of key themes, and the processes by which the themes will be employed to inform survey development.

Health literacy and health outcomes in HIV seropositive persons.

Inadequate health literacy has been associated with worse health status and more hospitalizations. We examined the influence of personal characteristics and health literacy on body change distress, depressive symptoms, and HIV symptom intensity in a convenience sample of 489 HIV-seropositive adults throughout the United States. Health literacy was measured with the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine (REALM) instrument. Those with higher health literacy scores reported more body change distress, depressive symptoms, and HIV symptom intensity. Being Latino and having higher health literacy scores were associated with poorer health outcomes. These results challenge the utility of the REALM to examine the relationship between health literacy and adverse health status.

eHealth technology and Internet resources: barriers for vulnerable populations.

Disparities in accessing health information exist for various vulnerable populations. Reviewing access issues for those seeking and/or needing health information suggests that there are many factors that may inhibit access. These include a wide diversity in the education, background, and needs of those seeking information, and the distribution of information among many disciplines and information sources. The most needy among this group may require extensive, multispecialty healthcare and may have particular problems with access, treatment adherence, and working within the healthcare system.

Implementing a Web-based information resource at an inner-city community church: lessons learned.

The objective of this project was to develop and implement electronic access to HIV/AIDS information resources at Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco, CA. This involved developing tailored Web-based access to the relevant information for the Glide Clinic patients. In addition, the project deployed workstations in 2 clinic areas and provided support to clinic patients as they learned to access the information resources. This article describes the experience with information retrieval in a clinic setting for underserved patients, including lessons learned, effective strategies, and anecdotes of effect on patients. Required nursing informatics competencies in this particular area are also addressed.