Nursing students' attitudes toward mobile learning: An integrative review

This study aimed to explore whether the attitudes of nursing students toward the use of mobile learning are positive or negative and to identify the factors influencing their attitudes by reviewing the literature.

Electronic search of six databases, including PubMed, the Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, ProQuest, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library, was conducted, and relevant references within articles were manually searched. Retrieval time was from inception to October 21, 2020. The literature review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines and the integrative review method. The Mixed Method Appraisal Tool (MMAT) was used for quality assessment.

A total of 316 articles were identified, and 18 English-language studies were finally included by reviewing titles, abstracts, and full text. Six quantitative, five qualitative, and seven mixed-method articles related to nursing students' attitudes toward the use of mobile learning were identified. The results showed that most nursing students had positive attitudes toward mobile learning. Although students expressed strong intentions for mobile learning, the actual usage rate in practical settings was low. Several advantageous factors included usefulness, convenience, and ease of use, whereas disadvantageous factors included hardware facility, updated content, and software stability.

Most nursing students have positive attitudes and willingness to mobile learning, but the actual use rate remains low. Advantageous and disadvantageous factors coexist. Further studies are needed to assess how mobile learning improves nursing students' clinical knowledge and improves patient care.