JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Psychiatric hospitals are increasingly becoming digitized because of the disruptive increase in technical possibilities. This digitization leads to new tasks and demands on health professionals, which can have an impact on technostress. It is unclear whether digital competence reduces technostress and how technostress affects the health professionals’ mental and physical health.

Objective:

The aims of the study were to assess the association between digital competence and technostress, considering individual characteristics as well as the association between technostress and the long-term consequences for health professionals.

Methods:

Cross-sectional data from three Swiss psychiatric hospitals was analyzed using multiple linear regressions. The dependent variables for the models were (1) digital competence, (2) technostress and (3) long-term consequences (intention to leave the organisation or the profession, burnout symptoms, job satisfaction, general health status, quality of sleep, headaches and work ability). For each long-term consequence, one model was calculated. Mean scores for technostress and digital competence could range between “0” fully disagree to “4” fully agree, whereas a high value for technostress indicated high technostress and a high value for digital competence indicated high digital competence.

Results:

The sample consisted of 493 health professionals in psychiatric hospitals. They rated their technostress as moderate (M = 1.30, SD = 0.55) and their digital competence as high (M = 2.89, SD = 0.73). Digital competence was found to be significantly associated with technostress (β =-0.20, P < .001). Among the individual characteristics, age (β = 0.004, P = .03) and profession were revealed to be significantly associated with both digital competence and technostress. Technostress is a relevant predictor for burnout symptoms (β = 10.32, P < .001), job satisfaction (β = -6.08, P < .001), intention to leave the professions (β = 4.53, P = .002) or the organization (β = 7.68, P < .001), general health status (β = -4.47, P < .001), quality of sleep (β = -5.87, P < .001), headaches (β = 6.58, P < .001), and work ability (β = -1.40, P < .001).

Conclusions:

Physicians and nurses who have more interaction with digital technologies rate their technostress higher and their digital competence lower than the other professions. Health professionals with low interaction with digital technologies appear to overestimate their digital competence. With increasing digitization in psychiatric hospitals, an increase in the relevance of this topic is expected. Educational organizations and psychiatric hospitals should promote the digital competence of health professionals proactively in order to manage the expected disruptive change.