Nurses' perception of how an e-message system influences cross-sectoral communication: A qualitative study

Area of Science:

• Healthcare communication
• Nursing informatics
• Transitional care

Background:

• Cross-sectoral communication is a key challenge in delivering high-quality transitional care.
• An electronic messaging (e-message) system was implemented to enhance dialogue and information exchange between healthcare sectors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore hospital and home care nurses' experiences with an e-message system.
• To assess the system's influence on cross-sectoral communication two years post-implementation.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative study involving nurses from one hospital and six municipalities.
• Data collected through semi-structured focus group interviews and participation observation.
• Content analysis used to analyze the collected data.

Main Results:

• The e-message system was utilized in both hospital and home care settings but failed to foster cross-sectoral dialogue.
• Home care nurses reported distrust in information received from the hospital.
• Hospital nurses prioritized system standards over the quality of information exchanged.

Conclusions:

• The e-message system primarily supports unidirectional information transfer, not the intended bidirectional communication loop.
• Nurse managers must ensure that e-message systems support high-quality information exchange and dialogue, not just adherence to standards.