Learning to interact with new technology: Health care workers' experiences of using a monitoring system for assessing hand hygiene - a grounded theory study.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Recently, innovative technologies for hand hygiene (HH) monitoring have been developed to improve HH adherence in health care. This study explored health care workers' experiences of using an electronic monitoring system to assess HH adherence. METHODS: An electronic monitoring system with digital feedback was installed on a surgical ward and interviews with health care workers using the system (n = 17) were conducted.  The data were analyzed according to grounded theory by Strauss and Corbin. RESULTS: Health care workers' experiences were expressed in terms of having trust in the monitoring system, requesting system functionality and ease of use and becoming aware of one's own performance. This resulted in the core category of learning to interact with new technology, summarized as the main strategy when using an electronic monitoring system in clinical settings. The system with digital feedback improved the awareness of HH and individual feedback was preferable to group feedback. CONCLUSIONS: Being involved in using and managing a technical innovation for assessing HH adherence in health care is a process of formulating a strategy for learning to interact with new technology. The importance of inviting health care workers to participate in the co-design of technical innovations is crucial, as it creates both trust in the innovation per se and trust in the process of learning how to use it.