A STUDY OF THE ACCEPTANCE OR REJECTION OF COMPUTERS IN THE PRACTICE SETTING BY PROFESSIONAL NURSES.
Contributors: Indiana University.
Published: 1987
Number of pages: 151
Subjects: Education, Adult and Continuing.; Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: The purpose of the study was to determine whether the following variables influenced the "acceptance or rejection" of computers by professional nurses in the practice setting: age, previous computer experience in the work environment, previous computer experience in the home setting, total years experience as a professional nurse, length of time working at present hospital, type of educational preparation, service or practice area, ownership of a personal computer, employment status, and practice level designation.

A literature search related to the adoption of innovations, and nurses attitudes toward the implementation of computers was conducted. Selected research instruments were completed by a convenience sample of 115 registered nurses employed in a large inner-city teaching hospital. The sample was divided into acceptor or rejector groups on the basis subject responses to a revised version of the Strange/Brodt instrument which purported to measure nurses' attitudes toward computers.

Responses on the 48 item revised version of the Strange/Brodt instrument was subjected to a Cronbach Alpha test for reliability and a discriminant function analysis.

Discriminant analysis revealed that the variables considered in the study could not be identified as significantly predictive of group membership. The F-ratios for each of the variables exceeded the.05 level of confidence.

The coefficient alpha obtained from the test for reliability of the revised Strange/Brodt instrument was.80. The median of the raw scores was used to separate respondents into two groups: those professional nurses accepting computerization of selected nursing functions in the hospital work setting and those professional nurses rejecting the computerization of selected nursing functions in the hospital work setting. The variables of previous experience with a computer in the work situation and the total years of experience as a registered nurse were the best discriminating variables of those considered in this study.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 48-08, Section: A, page: 1961.

Thesis (ED.D.)--INDIANA UNIVERSITY, 1987.

School code: 0093.