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Personal Communication Device Use by Nurses Providing In-Patient Care: Survey of Prevalence, Patterns, and
Deborah L McBride1, Sandra A LeVasseur2
1Samuel Merritt University, San Mateo, CA, United States.
JMIR Human Factors
|April 15, 2017
Summary
Most nurses use personal communication devices (PCDs) at work, often for work-related tasks. However, a majority believe PCDs negatively impact patient care and cause distractions, highlighting a need for professional guidelines.
Area of Science:
- Nursing Informatics
- Healthcare Technology
- Patient Safety
Background:
- Personal communication devices (PCDs) are ubiquitous among hospital-registered nurses.
- While PCDs offer benefits, their impact on in-patient care remains largely unknown.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine how hospital-registered nurses use PCDs for work-related and non-work-related activities.
- To assess the impact of PCD use on in-patient care.
Main Methods:
- A survey was distributed to 14,797 members of national nursing organizations.
- Participants reported on their PCD usage and opinions regarding its impact on their work and colleagues' work.
Main Results:
- The vast majority of nurses use PCDs at work, primarily for communication, calculations, and accessing medical information.
- Most nurses believe PCDs negatively impact patient care and act as a distraction, with many witnessing colleagues' devices causing errors.
- Younger nurses reported higher PCD use and more positive views on their impact compared to older nurses.
Conclusions:
- Nurses perceive significant safety issues related to PCD use in hospitals.
- A discrepancy exists between perceived colleague distraction and self-acknowledged distraction, suggesting potential unawareness of personal attention deficits.
- Developing professional codes of conduct for PCD use is essential to maximize benefits while mitigating risks.
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