Attitudes of nurses toward the use of computerized health information systems in Kuwaiti general and tertiary hospitals and rehabilitation facilities

This exploratory study was conducted to determine nurses' attitudes toward computerized Health Information Systems (HIS) and to identify variables influencing those attitudes. The preferred teaching methods for computer skills teaming were also identified. The Stronge and Brodt (1985) Nurses' Attitudes Toward Computerization questionnaire and other developed questions were distributed to staff nurses. Five hundred thirty nurses randomly selected from Kuwaiti government hospitals completed a questionnaire measuring attitudes toward computerized HIS. Participants were also asked to comment on personal feelings and experiences about using computerized HIS in Kuwaiti health care facilities.; Results of this study indicated that the respondents had positive attitudes toward computerized HIS (M = 3.6, Range 1–5, SD = 0.45). T-tests and analysis of variance revealed significant differences in attitudes in relation to nationality, level of education preparation, previous experience with computers, and computer skills (p < 0.05). Stepwise multiple regressions were run with attitude score as the dependent variable. Results showed that education levels and previous computer experience of the respondents were the strongest predictors of attitudes toward computerized HIS (p < 0.05). The preferred teaching method for computer skills learning was training by technical staff in the clinical area. The majority of the nurses in this study displayed positive comments toward the use of computerized HIS in Kuwaiti health care facilities. Findings of this research suggest that with adequate computer technology education and training, the implementation of computerized HIS could be effective for nurses in providing quality health care services.