Impact of Digital Literacy levels of Healthcare Professionals on perceived quality of care
ABSTRACT
Background:
Multiple digital technologies were used during and after the COVID pandemic with an intent to improve quality of patient care. It has been seen that the perception of patients towards use of digital solutions in clinical care varies significantly. This has also been attributed to varying levels of digital literacy levels amongst Healthcare Professionals(HCP) involved in patient care.
Objective:
Our study aimed to study the impact of digital literacy levels of healthcare professionals including hospital attendants and support staff which were involved in clinical care team of COVID-19 patients, so that barriers towards implementation of digital health solutions could be identified.
Methods:
A standardized survey using responses based on Likert Scale was developed which measured the confidence levels of HCPs and their attitudes towards digital technologies. The survey consisted of questions from the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the unified theory of acceptancy and use of technology (UTAUT) to assess attitude of HCP. 100 Hospital attendants directly employed in patient care were enrolled in the study. They were also asked to answer on feedback received from patients on perceived quality of care.
Results:
Around 60% of the HCPs showed high digital literacy levels. Most respondents showed confidence in the use of technology. Around 20% of HCPs showed apprehension towards using digital solutions for direct patient care. Significant difference was found between study population with high digital literacy and perceived quality of care.
Conclusions:
Our study found that poor digital literacy in healthcare professionals adversely affects the safety and quality of patient care. It is important that institutions should provide targeted education and training to not just doctors and nursing staff but other support staff with low digital literacy levels and to boost their confidence in providing clinical care
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