Nursing Informatics Competency and Effective Clinical Decision-Making among Nurses in Saudi Arabia.

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Health Informatics
• Clinical Decision-Making

Background:

• Nursing informatics competency (NIC) is crucial for modern healthcare.
• Effective clinical decision-making (CDM) skills are essential for quality patient care.
• Understanding the relationship between NIC and CDM in Saudi Arabia is important for practice and education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the relationship between nursing informatics competency (NIC) and perceived clinical decision-making (CDM) skills.
• To assess the level of NIC and CDM among nurses in Saudi Arabia.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional, descriptive, correlational study.
• Convenience sampling of 160 registered nurses from three government hospitals in Saudi Arabia.
• Data collected via self-reported questionnaires including NICAT and CDMNS through Google Forms.

Main Results:

• Nurses reported "proficient" NIC (M=110.5, SD ±24.3) and "medium" perceived CDM (M=148.6, SD ±32.0).
• A strong, significant linear relationship was found between NIC and perceived CDM (r=0.734, p<0.001).
• NIC was the sole significant predictor of perceived CDM (β=0.7, p<0.001).

Conclusions:

• Higher nursing informatics competency is associated with enhanced perceived clinical decision-making skills.
• Healthcare stakeholders should invest in informatics training and integrate informatics tools.
• Further research using longitudinal and qualitative methods is recommended to explore factors influencing CDM.