The use of electronic communication for patient-professional interaction – nursing staff’s point of view

Patient care in hospital wards is decreasing dramatically; more and more often, it takes place at home and in outpatient clinics. New ways to communicate are thus needed between patients and professionals. The use of electronic devices is one possible solution to facilitate the communication and support modern care.The purpose of the study was to describe nursing staff’s skills and experiences on the use of electronic communication for interaction with patients. The study also looks at factors promoting and hindering the use of electronic communication. The study used a descriptive design including both qualitative and quantitative components. The data were collected among nursing staff (N=567, n=123) working in outpatient clinics in spring 2012 with an electronic questionnaire.Computer and electronic communication skills among nursing staff were at a moderately good level. They had most experience in the use of email and text messages. Electronic devices were used at all stages of the nursing process. Three main categories were formed to describe promoting and hindering factors for the use of electronic communication: user-related factors; technology- and organization-related factors; and nursing- and communication-related factors. According to the participants, electronic devices are necessary and useful tools in interacting with patients. Patients’ personal characteristics and information security problems were perceived as the most significant hindering factors.The use of technology benefited both the nursing staff and patients in communication. The nurses’ experiences on the use of electronic communication were not very extensive as emails and text messages were the most commonly used methods.