Exploring social media adoption by nurses for nursing practice in rural Volta, Ghana

The purpose of the study was to inquire into social media adoption by nurses for nursing practice.

An exploratory descriptive qualitative design was employed in understanding social media adoption for nursing care among nurses.

A purposive sampling technique was employed to recruit 12 participants for the study. A semi-structured interview guide was used to conduct in-depth interviews which were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim, coded and analysed. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data with NVivo 12.

The findings revealed nurses found social media to be useful for the dissemination, and reception of information, professional development and enhanced referral networks. Apart from its usefulness, participants believe that it is easy to navigate its apps, clear and understandable to use and does not involve much mental effort hence their favourable attitude towards use. Some participants also believe that inaccurate information, privacy and confidentiality concerns, distraction and addiction were some potential risks that are associated with its usage in nursing practice. Due to this, some participants developed a negative attitude towards its usage.

Twelve nurses actively participated in the study.