USE OF EHEALTH IN NURSING PRACTICE AMONG NURSES IN CAPE COAST

ABSTRACT Information and communication technology (ICT) is transforming the delivery  of  health  care  at  a  fast  rate.  Nurses  who  form  the  majority of the health workforce are strategically positioned  to champion  the  transition  to digital  health  care.  Ghana  is  fast  adopting  eHealth,  however  there  is  little evidence on how well nurses are using these technologies. A descriptive cross sectional  study  using  a  quantitative  approach  was  conducted  aimed  at identifying  eHealth  usage  among  registered  nurses  in  Cape  Coast.  A  multi stage  sampling  technique  was  employed.  Data collated  from  206  registered nurses  in  Cape  Coast  revealed  that  respondents  were  predominantly  female (61.7%) and 38.3% were  males.  Knowledge, attitude, practice and resources were  generally  good.  Most  of  the  nurses  (65.5%)  had  good  knowledge  and more than half of them (67.5%) generally demonstrated good attitudes towards eHealth. The majority (54.9%) of respondents also demonstrated a good skill in  the  use  of  ICT  in  health  service  delivery.  Resources  on  eHealth  were available  to  most  nurses.   Most  nurses  were  found  to  be  using  electronic platforms  which  represented  an  opportunity  for  use  as  a  channel  for continuous  professional  development.  Monitoring  and  evaluation  was  either erratic or non-existent. The study proves that the knowledge, attitude, practice as well as resources were good but there is a need for improvement in certain areas.  It  is  recommended  that  nurses  take  advantage  of  electronic  platforms and  social  networks  for  professional  knowledge  sharing  as  well  as  support research.