Nursing Informatics Competencies of Public Health Nurses in Chungcheongnam-do

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to identify nursing informatics competencies of nurses working for public health centers in Chungcheongnam-do. METHODS: Data were collected from June 10 to July 25, 2012 using the Nursing Informatics Competencies Questionnaire (NICQ). Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, t-test, chi2-test, ANOVA and Pearson's correlation coefficient. RESULTS: Nursing informatics competencies of the subjects showed a mean score of 3.3+/-1.0 out of 5. As for scores of individual categories, the score for computer skills competencies was 3.3+/-1.0, informatics knowledge competencies 3.4+/-0.9, and informatics skills competencies 3.0+/-0.9. Nursing informatics competencies were positively correlated with the subjects' ages (r=.65, p<.001), computer usage hours (r=.23, p = .015), levels of demand for informatics knowledge (r=.51, p<.001), and informatics skills education (r=.78, p<.001). CONCLUSION: Nursing informatics is required to be connected with job training or in-service education on account of its growing necessity for public health nurses. It is also essential to develop programs for strengthening informatics competencies reflecting sub-categories of educational needs.