Attitudes toward Web-based distance learning among public health nurses in Taiwan: a questionnaire survey

Public health nurses (PHNs) often cannot receive in-service education due to limitations of time and space. Learning through the Internet has been a widely used technique in many professional and clinical nursing fields. The learner's attitude is the most important indicator that promotes learning.

The purpose of this study was to investigate PHNs' attitude toward web-based learning and its determinants.

This study conducted a cross-sectional research design.

369 health centers in Taiwan.

The population involved this study was 2398 PHNs, and we used random sampling from this population. Finally, 329 PHNs completed the questionnaire, with a response rate of 84.0%.

Data were collected by mailing the questionnaire.

Most PHNs revealed a positive attitude toward web-based learning (mean+/-SD=55.02+/-6.39). PHNs who worked at village health centers, a service population less than 10,000, PHNs who had access to computer facility and on-line hardware in health centers and with better computer competence revealed more positive attitudes (p<0.01).

Web-based learning is an important new way of in-service education; however, its success and hindering factors require further investigation. Individual computer competence is the main target for improvement, and educators should also consider how to establish a user-friendly learning environment on the Internet.