Factors That Impact Nurses' Utilization of Electronic Mail (E-Mail)

The purpose of this study was to identify factors that impact nurses' utilization of electronic mail (e-mail) in the workplace. Specific barriers and facilitators to nurses' use of e-mail were identified and described. Not all nurses with e-mail accounts are using e-mail. However, there has been no previous research dedicated to identifying the factors that affect nurses' use of e-mail. Increasing nurses' utilization of e-mail is necessary to increase nurses' professional productivity and will affect nursing practice, research, education and administration. This qualitative study employed a descriptive research design. Data were gathered through three separate focus group interviews with a total of 17 nurses representing three different nurse populations. Content analysis was used to identify and label seven major categories of factors that impact nurses' utilization of e-mail: perceived disadvantages/benefits of use, individual personal traits, technical capabilities of the system, security issues, individual instruction, access and support. Specific factors identified were generally consistent with the types of barriers and facilitators described in the literature to affect use of computers in general. However, there were several additional factors identified that were unique to nurses and to e-mail: lack of face to face communication, individual writing skills, timing of educational experience, volume of mail received, password integrity, and technical support. Findings from this study provide valuable information for any individual involved in introducing or updating an e-mail system in a healthcare environment. Components of an ideal e-mail system were highlighted. Future research needs to be directed toward identifying and verifying the relationship that exists between each of the factors found to impact use and the decision making process individual nurses use when attempting to adopt this technological innovation.Air Force Inst of Tech Wright-Patterson AFB OH is the author of 'Factors That Impact Nurses' Utilization of Electronic Mail (E-Mail)', published 1998 under ISBN 9781423561729 and ISBN 1423561724.