BACKGROUND

Sensor-based technologies offer numerous benefits in hospital environments as they can be used (1) to improve efficiency defined processes and (2) to monitor their conduction in order to prevent errors. However, the impact of these technologies on the stakeholders involved such as professional ward nurses is largely unexplored. The early assessment of technology acceptance and user resistance is crucial to anticipate potential conflicts and to improve future implementation success.

OBJECTIVES

To understand the attitudes and intentions of usage of professional ward nurses toward sensor-based medication systems based on an adjusted extended technology acceptance model (TAM2) in a pre-implementation stage.

DESIGN

A scenario-based research design was used in a nation-wide empirical study.

SETTINGS

Nurses of Australian associations/unions evaluated a scenario of a sensor-based medication support system.

PARTICIPANTS

A randomly selected sample of 579 professional ward nurses participated in this study.

METHODS

Data were collected using an online questionnaire and explored using hierarchical regression analysis.

RESULTS

The majority of nurses intend to use the system but 25% - not voluntarily. 8% reject the system entirely. In assessing the nurses' perceived usefulness, image, demonstrability, qualitative and quantitative overload as well as personal innovativeness were found to have a significant impact. Qualitative and quantitative overload also have a significant negative effect on personal innovativeness. Regarding the nurses' usage intention, we identified a significant negative influence of subjective norm, moderated by experience and a positive effect of perceived usefulness on intention to use the system. Image, qualitative and quantitative overload as well as personal innovativeness are significantly influenced by age.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings support a successful implementation of medication support systems in hospitals by stating acceptance drivers and barriers. Nurses' adoption is promoted once a high degree of perceived usefulness is achieved by result demonstrability, a positive image of the technology and a high degree of personal innovativeness. Image and innovativeness are moderated by age, showing that an increase in age leads to an increase in user resistance toward the perceived usefulness of the envisioned medication support systems. Future studies should investigate these barriers in further stages of implementation to extend understanding of sensor-based medication system acceptance.