Developing and testing attitude scales around IT

AB : Rod Ward, Margaret Glogowska, Katherine Pollard and Pam Moule describe how they developed and analysed data from a survey of healthcare professionals Information technology (IT) is an integral component of the healthcare delivery arsenal. However, not all professionals are happy or comfortable with such technology. To assess professionals' attitudes to IT-use in the workplace, a new questionnaire, the Information Technology Attitude Scales for Health (ITASH), which comprises three scales that can be used to measure the attitudes of UK health professionals, has been developed. Here, the authors describe existing scales, why a new scale was required, and how analysing data from a questionnaire using exploratory factor analysis determined the components of the three scales: efficiency of care; education, training and development; and control. (C) Copyright 2009 RCN Publishing Company Ltd