Primary health-care nurses and Internet health information-seeking: Access, barriers and quality checks.

Online information is a critical resource for evidence-based practice and patient education. This study aimed to establish New Zealand nurses' access and evaluation of online health information in the primary care context using a postal questionnaire survey; there were 630 respondents from a random sample of 931 nurses. The majority of respondents were satisfied with work access to online information (84.5%, n = 501) and searched for online information at least several times a week (57.5%, n = 343). The major barrier to online information seeking was insufficient time, but 68 respondents had no work online information access. The level of nursing qualification was significantly correlated with computer confidence and information quality checking. A range of information evaluation approaches was used. Most nurses in study accessed and evaluated Internet information in contrast to the findings of earlier studies, but there were barriers preventing universal integration into practice.

Primary health care nurses and heart failure education: a survey.

INTRODUCTION: Heart failure education contributes to effective self-management. New Zealand primary health care nurses' contributions to heart failure educational activities have not been researched. AIM: To identify primary health care nurses' heart failure educational activities in terms of duration and frequency, topics covered, resources used and strategies for Maori and other ethnic groups. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of a random sample of 961 primary health care nurses using a postal questionnaire. RESULTS: Of 630 respondents (65.5%), 369 worked with patients with heart failure and 339 provided heart failure education. One-third of respondents providing education (33.3%; n=113) delivered sessions from 16 to 60 minutes. The main educational topics covered were on the physical aspects of heart failure; prognosis, spiritual/existential and psychosocial topics were least often addressed. One-quarter of the group providing education did not use educational resources (n=86). The majority of respondents reported they would find more education about heart failure useful or very useful (80.2%; n=292), along with nurse practitioner support (64.7%; n=229). Maori-centred services and resources and involving whanau/family in education were the most frequently mentioned Maori-specific education strategies. DISCUSSION: A consistent approach to heart failure education is important to address knowledge gaps in a timely manner. This study affirms the contribution made by primary health care nurses in chronic illness education and highlights the need for further development and investment in ongoing heart failure nursing education and specialist nursing support.

Nurses and heart failure education in medical wards.

Heart failure is a chronic debilitating disease with significant hospitalisation rates. Information and education are foundational elements in making the lifestyle changes required for effective self-management of the symptoms of heart failure. This paper reports a study of medical nurses' education activities with heart failure patients in terms of the topics they addressed and the educational resources they found most useful. A random sample of 540 medical ward nurses were surveyed in 2009 using a postal questionnaire. The response rate was 47% (234 medical ward nurses who cared for patients with heart failure). Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, qualitative data through a content analysis approach. The majority of respondents (66.7%) cared for patients with heart failure several times each week. The total time spent on educational activities by most respondents (70.6%) was estimated as 20 minutes or less over the hospitalisation. Printed material was the most commonly used education resource although 35 respondents also referred to online information and 84 nurses did not use educational material at all. The most frequent education topics discussed were medication, signs and symptoms and general information about heart failure. Psychological factors and prognosis information were the topics least discussed with patients. Respondent suggestions to improve patient access to heart failure information included more printed information in wards such as pamphlets in various languages, information about useful websites and having key resources available in te reo Maori. The heart failure educator was identified as an important resource for both nurses and patients. The study highlighted the limited time many respondents spent on educational activities and the need for readily available educational resources to optimise patient heart failure education opportunities.

Nurses' use of online health information in medical wards.

AIM: This paper is a report of a study of nurses' access, use and evaluation of online health information in medical wards. BACKGROUND: Online health information is commonly used by patients with chronic illness to support their education needs. Nurses have a critical role in assisting patients to access and use this information. METHOD: This descriptive cross-sectional survey of a random sample of 540 nurses employed in medical wards was carried out in 2009. The response rate was 58·7% (293). The analytical approach included descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests of correlation and differences between groups. A content analysis was performed on the qualitative data. RESULTS: Most respondents (78·6%) were satisfied with work Internet access and 58·2% believed that the use of online information improved care delivery. Nearly half the group was aware of patient misconceptions about their illness due to incorrect interpretations of online information, but only 24·4% checked if patients used online information. There was a significant association between assessing patients use and awareness of patient misconceptions. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study highlight that while online resources add to education opportunities, the ongoing nursing assessment required to determine online information needs is not always incorporated into nursing practice. Patient misunderstandings of online material were also identified; developing patient competency in evaluating open access health information should now be recognized as an integral aspect of illness management education.

Representations of heart failure in Internet patient information.

AIM: This paper is a report of a study which examined representations of heart failure in Internet patient information. BACKGROUND: The Internet is a popular tool for sourcing health information and has been shown to benefit people with chronic conditions. Nurses as users and producers of Internet health information need to be critical of the information they provide and how this information is portrayed, to support patient knowledge development and decision-making. METHOD: A critical discourse analysis approach was used to examine representations of heart failure in a range of Internet texts. Data were collected from eight websites over 5 days in July 2006. FINDINGS: The two major discursive representations evident in the heart failure texts were labelled 'living with heart failure' and 'biomedical' discourses. While both discourses were evident in all of the Internet sites, most sites privileged the biomedical discourse. Absences from the Internet information included the visibility and role of nurses along with emotional and spiritual dimensions of heart failure. CONCLUSION: Nurses should take individual needs into consideration and be able to critique websites before suggesting appropriate sites to patients. Nurses and consumers can enhance the quality of websites by becoming involved in their development to ensure that all factors that affect health are included, such as the emotional and spiritual aspects of living with heart failure and not just topics that are important within a biomedical view of health.