Development and testing of nurses information systems use instrument

Abstract

Information systems provide nurses with a variety of resources to facilitate their work. Nurses' use of information systems changes the way they collect assessment data, and plan and implement patient care. However, a reliable and valid instrument for measuring nurse's use of information systems does not currently exist. This study examined the development and psychometric testing of a measure of nurses' information systems use, the Information Systems Use Instrument (ISUI). A random sample of 570 nurses working in hospitals, providing direct patient care and using at least one information system completed the study questionnaire. The internal consistency reliability was .82. Exploratory factor analysis, using principal components extraction and varimax rotation, revealed that all seven items loaded cleanly and strongly on a single factor. The ISUI showed sufficient evidence for its psychometric properties to encourage its use.