ASSESSMENT OF TECHNOLOGY IN NURSING AND ITS PERCEIVED IMPACT ON PATIENT SAFETY IN UNIVERSITY OF BENIN TEACHING HOSPITAL, BENIN CITY

Abstract

Technology has become a major tool for the 21st century in making change happen in healthcare delivery, and nurses are playing an important role in helping these changes lead to better patient safety results. The aim of the study was to study the effect of technology in Nursing and its effects on Patient Safety in the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. Descriptive cross sectional survey design was used to explore the use of technology, perceptions of technology's effect on patient safety, and barriers to technology use by nurses. A validated self-structured questionnaire was administered to 243 registered nurses selected using a stratified random sampling technique and by convenience sampling samples from ten clinical units. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 27.0 software was used to analyze data. Results identified moderate technology utilization with 53% of nurses reporting high levels of utilization and 47% reporting low levels of utilization of electronic health records, patient monitoring systems, digital devices, decision support, and telehealth. 78% of nurses saw technology as having a positive effect on patient safety, acknowledging that advances in technology help to reduce medical errors, to identify complications early, to improve communication and to boost clinical competence despite moderate use. 66% however identified some barriers such as poor electricity supply, lack of training, high workload, etc. The results of the hypothesis testing showed there was a statistically significant positive relationship between technology utilization and perceived safety impact (χ² = 8.94, p = 0.003), with 85% of high utilizers perceiving a positive impact as compared to 70% of low utilizers. The study results indicated that nurses at UBTH acknowledge that technology can improve patient safety, but that there are barriers at a system and organizational level to optimal use and effectiveness. To get the maximum benefit from the use of technology in promoting patient safety, it is recommended that the hospital management should conduct regular in-servicing training, enhance infrastructure and staffing, ensure the provision of adequate power supply and maintenance of equipment, create technical support systems, and enhance interprofessional collaboration. Keywords: Assessment, Technology, Nursing, Impact, Patient Safety.

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Resource ID

urn:uuid:e6d4f578-9c3f-4cc9-b115-18b9f52aec62