Assessments of nurses’ experiences of patient and client information system usage in joint health care and social welfare services and overall in health care

Authors

• Kaija Saranto Department of Health and Social Management, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio
• Samuli Koponen Department of Health and Social Management, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio
• Eija Kivekäs Department of Health and Social Management, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio
• Tuulikki Vehko Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki

DOI: https://doi.org/10.23996/fjhw.109932

Keywords:

information systems, in-service training, structured documentation, exchange of information [http://www.yso.fi/onto/yso/p24878], registered nurse, joint health care and social welfare services

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess how nurses working in health care and joint health care and social welfare services, such as home nursing or home hospital services and sheltered home, use patient and client information systems in their work and how the systems’ usage differs in different settings.

An electronic questionnaire was sent to nurses who were members of the Finnish Nurses Association, TEHY, and AKAVA Nursing Professionals working in the public health and social sector as well as the private sector in spring 2020. A total of 3,610 registered nurses, including midwives and public health nurses, responded to the questionnaire. The responses of those nurses working in the joint health care and social welfare services, e.g. home nursing, home hospital services, or sheltered home (n=370), were extracted from the data, and their experiences were compared to the experiences of registered nurses working in health care settings (n=3,240). Ordinal logistic regression analysis was used for data analysis. Further, the feedback concerning information system usage in an open-ended question was analyzed.

Registered nurses used 13 same brads of patient and client information systems in joint health care and social welfare services as their’ colleagued used in health care. Registered nurses regarded themselves as proficient users, but the in-service training had not been sufficient. Those working in the joint services especially felt that the in-service training had been more unsatisfactory than those working in the health care settings. The positive experiences of registered nurses using structured documentation (OR 1.30, p=0.049) and nursing records (OR 1.37, p=0.008) in the joint services differed significantly from those working in health care settings. Both groups felt that receiving patient data from other organizations often takes too long. Registered nurses working in the joint services made significantly more phone calls daily (OR 1.77, p< 0.001) to acquire data than registered nurses in health care. Both groups used Kanta services occasionally. The development of information systems to support the work of nurses in different operating environments should be continued. In the future, there is a need to strengthen in-serve training in terms of timing, content, and length to enhance and support registered nurses’ work.