Digital Stress, Technology Acceptance and Self-Reported Digital Amnesia Among Clinical Nurses: A Cross-Sectional Indirect-Effect Analysis

This study examined the association between digital stress and self-reported digital amnesia and the indirect statistical association through technology acceptance among clinical nurses.

Cross-sectional survey study.

A total of 246 registered nurses working in emergency departments, intensive care units and operating rooms in hospitals in the Republic of Korea participated in the study between August 5 and August 19, 2025. Participants completed self-report measures of digital stress, technology acceptance and self-reported digital amnesia. PROCESS Model 4 was used to estimate direct and indirect statistical associations. Covariate-adjusted sensitivity analyses were also conducted.

Digital stress was negatively associated with technology acceptance and positively associated with self-reported digital amnesia. After accounting for digital stress, technology acceptance was positively associated with self-reported digital amnesia. The indirect association through technology acceptance was statistically significant but small in magnitude and operated in the opposite direction to the direct association, indicating an inconsistent indirect-effect pattern. The pattern of associations remained consistent in the sensitivity analyses.

Digital stress was associated with greater self-reported digital amnesia among clinical nurses. Technology acceptance showed a small inconsistent indirect association and should not be interpreted as a conventional mediator, particularly given the cross-sectional design.

Digital stress may be an important consideration when examining nurses' self-reported memory-related experiences in technology-intensive clinical settings. The small inconsistent indirect association through technology acceptance highlights the need to consider digital stress and technology acceptance jointly rather than interpreting technology acceptance as a protective or causal mechanism. Recognizing digital stress as a work-related concern may inform nurse informatics support, digital-workflow design, training and technical support in technology-intensive clinical settings.

This study addressed the limited evidence on how digital stress and technology acceptance relate to self-reported digital amnesia among nurses in high-acuity clinical settings. Digital stress was associated with greater self-reported digital amnesia, whereas technology acceptance showed only a small inconsistent indirect association. The findings are relevant to clinical nurses, nurse managers and nursing informatics teams responsible for digital-workflow design, training and technical support in hospitals.

This study was reported in accordance with the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guideline for cross-sectional studies.

Patients, service users, caregivers and members of the public were not involved in the design, conduct, analysis, interpretation or preparation of this manuscript.