A Study to Assess the Knowledge and Attitude of Student Nurses Regarding Computer Application in Nursing Curriculum

Abstract

A study to assess the knowledge and attitude of student nurses regarding computer applications in nursing curriculum. B. Sc. Nursing 1st year students in Nightingale Institute of Nursing, Noida was undertaken by Prof Kalpana Mandal, Associate Professor Lekha Singh, Lecturer G. Sonia at Nightingale Institute of Nursing, Noida, Chaudhary Charan Singh University, during the year 2011-13. The objectives of the study were: (1) To assess the knowledge of computer application in nursing curriculum among student nurses. (2) To assess the attitude towards computer application in nursing curriculum among student nurses. (3) To correlate the knowledge score and attitude score of student nurses regarding computer application in nursing curriculum. The research approach of the study was descriptive research approach and the design adopted was descriptive survey approach. The study was done among B. Sc. 1st year students of Nightingale Institute of Nursing, Noida. Simple random sampling was used to select 30 students for the study. Tool for data collection included structured questionnaire to collect sociodemographic data, questionnaire and attitude scale to assess the knowledge and attitude of the student nurses. The tool was given to five experts for validation. Data for the final study was collected on 6th April 2013. Analysis and interpretation of data was based on the objectives of the study. Data were analyzed and interpreted using both descriptive and inferential statistics in terms of frequencies, percentages, correlation. The findings of the study had several implications on nursing practice, nursing research; nursing education and nursing administration. Based on the findings, recommendations for further research were made. The results of the study show that 13.3% of students have good knowledge, 73.4% have average and 13.3% have poor knowledge. Findings also showed that 90% of students have positive attitude towards computer applications in nursing curriculum, 3.3% have negative attitude and 6.7% have neutral attitude.

Keywords: Knowledge, attitude, student nurse, computer application