Knowledge, practice and perception of tele-nursing in Argentina

Abstract

Introduction: tele-nursing is the remote nursing care that was performed through the use of technological tools the professionals who use it plan, interact and evaluate the results of care by employing information and communication technologies. Objective: to describe knowledge, practice and perception of tele-nursing in a sample of nurses in Argentina. Methods: an observational, descriptive, cross-sectional, descriptive study was carried out. The sample consisted of 137 nursing professionals. A 38-item instrument integrating four dimensions (sociodemographic, knowledge, practice and perception) was used. Results: 78,4 % of the sample belonged to the female sex. Of the respondents, 66,4 % had heard about ICTs, and the places they said they had heard about them were: 36,5 % on the Internet, 35,8% at university, 18,2 % from a friend, 11,7 % at a congress, 5,1 % in the press, 0,7 % at work and 0.7% in a brochure. When inquiring about the practices of nursing professionals regarding Tele-Nursing, it was identified that most of them use applications within their electronic devices, those related to social networks (83,9 %), music (70,1 %) and entertainment (65 %) stand out. Conclusions: The study developed evidenced the practices of nursing staff on the use of ICT, highlights the use of mobile devices, email, internet, as well as social networking and entertainment applications. Adequate perception and knowledge of the use of ICT for nursing care was found among the staff.