Access to the internet in an acute care area: experiences of nurses

The internet is expected to play a key role in delivering evidence-based practice (Department of Health (DoH), 1997, 1998a; Beyea, 2000). In the UK, poor access to the internet and a lack of knowledge and confidence have been identified as barriers to nurses accessing evidence via the internet. The study described here aimed to evaluate how open access to the internet in an acute ward area had an impact upon the evidence-based practice of nurse and allied health professionals. The study was funded by the Department of Health. It incorporated a survey of over 200 staff, semi-structured interviews and monitoring of internet use. The results indicate that the ward-based internet facilities were valued and used by nurses. However, time, support and training are required for nurse to realize the full potential of the internet. Future partnerships between health science libraries and the NHS are recommended to help staff to access and use the internet in order to answer clinically derived questions.