Nurses' attitudes towards computers: cross sectional questionnaire study.
AIM: To estimate the attitudes of hospital nurses towards computers and the influence of gender, age, education, and computer usage on these attitudes. METHODS: The study was conducted in two Croatian hospitals where integrated hospital information system is being implemented. There were 1,081 nurses surveyed by an anonymous questionnaire consisting of 8 questions about demographic data, education, and computer usage, and 30 statements on attitudes towards computers. The statements were adapted to a Likert type scale. Differences in attitudes towards computers were compared using one-way ANOVA and Tukey-b post-hoc test. RESULTS: The total score was 120+/-15 (mean+/-standard deviation) out of maximal 150. Nurses younger than 30 years had a higher total score than those older than 30 years (124+/-13 vs 119+/-16 for 30-39 age groups and 117+/-15 for>39 age groups, P<0.001). Nurses with a bachelor's degree (119+/-16 vs 122+/-14, P=0.002) and nurses who had attended computer science courses had a higher total score compared to the others (124+/-13 vs 118+/-16, P<0.001). Nurses using computers more than 5 hours per week had higher total score than those who used computers less than 5 hours (127+/-13 vs 124+/-12 for 1-5 h and and 119+/-14 for <1 hour per day, P<0.001, post-hoc test). CONCLUSION: Nurses in general have positive attitudes towards computers. These results are important for the planning and implementing an integrated hospital information system.