Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of nurses towards mobile and digital health information tools in Ujjain, India

Reliable access to evidence-based clinical information is essential for improving maternal and newborn care, yet nurses in many low-resource settings rely on unstructured digital sources. This study assessed nurses' knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding smartphones, internet use, and mobile health applications to inform the development of a maternal-newborn health mHealth intervention.

A prospective cross-sectional survey was conducted among 453 nurses from three hospitals in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India. A structured, pilot-tested questionnaire measured digital access, information-seeking practices, and attitudes toward mobile healthcare applications. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize findings.

Digital access was high, with 99% of nurses using smartphones and the internet. Most nurses searched online for disease symptoms (97%) and treatment information (91%), primarily through personal mobile data. Only 6% had installed mobile healthcare applications, but 98% expressed willingness to use a credible, evidence-based app. Google and YouTube were the most common search engines used to locate health-related information, and 88% participated in informal social media groups to seek clinical advice. Lack of awareness was the main barrier to using mHealth applications.

Nurses demonstrate strong digital engagement and high readiness to adopt structured mobile healthcare applications, despite limited current use. These findings underline the need for reliable, evidence-based digital tools to support clinical decision-making and reduce reliance on unverified online sources. The study provides essential baseline insights for designing a maternal-newborn mobile health application tailored to the digital behaviors and information needs of frontline nurses.