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Sylvester, Deborah J.

Nursing

2011

MS

The purpose of this study was to assess the attitudes of registered nurses (RNs) toward computers at a rural, community hospital. A non-experimental, descriptive, correlational design was used with the previously designed Nurses' Attitudes Toward Computers (NATC) questionnaire. A total of 112 surveys (51.4% response rate) were completed over a one month period. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the sample and scores of the NATC questionnaire. A one-way ANOVA was used to compare scores between levels of demographic variables. If significant (p<0.05), pairwise comparisons of means was done. Significant differences were found in attitudes toward computers based on age, years of nursing experience, education, and time spent using a computer outside of work. Recognizing the attitudes of RNs who practice in rural, community hospitals is important, as the utilization by RNs of health information technology is expected to increase in the future. Implication for cohort specific staff education for institutions undergoing adoption of health information technology is discussed.