Nurses' confidence and experience in using information technology

Objective: In order to support policy planning for health, the current use of information and computer technology by nurses in Australia was determined. Design: A self-administered postal survey. Setting: Nurses throughout Australia. Subjects: The survey was distributed to 10,000 members of the Australian Nursing Federation. Main outcome measures: Data on the experience and confidence in use of computers and information and technology by nurses in all sectors of nursing in Australia. Results: Among the 4330 respondents 85% use computers at work most frequently for managing patient records, continuing professional education, communication, accessing policies and procedures and clinical results. Experience in the use of IT ranged from 90% for a common application such as word processing to 64% for reference tools. Confidence in use of IT was generally low with fewer than 25% of nurses stating they were very confident in using any software application. Results varied by level of nurse, their age and length of time in nursing. Assistants in nursing and enrolled nurses had significantly lower experience and confidence than registered nurses, while younger nurses and those with the least time in nursing were more experienced and confident. Conclusion: For most of Australia’s nurses experience and confidence in use of IT is confined to basic computer and common applications. In order to achieve the stated goals in the use of IT to support health delivery action is urgently required. Employers and policy makers at all levels of government must work with nurses to adopt strategies to increase the access to and use of I