An Examination of the Mediating Role for a Nursing Information System

Authors

  • Lemai Nguyen Department of Information Systems and Business Analytics, Deakin Business School, Deakin University http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3695-7245
  • Nilmini Wickramasinghe Health Informatics Management, Epworth HealthCare, Faculty of Health, Deakin University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3127/ajis.v21i0.1387

Keywords:

Activity theory, nursing informatics, health information systems, electronic documentation

Abstract

This paper reports on findings from an examination of a nursing information system through the lens of Activity Theory. The information system was designed to support real-time nursing documentation in acute care hospital contexts. The objective was to enable superior nursing care to ensue by providing nurses with the opportunity to document patient care data into a tablet computer located at the patient bedside. The system was evaluated in a not-for-profit acute care hospital’s wards during its implementation. Nurses’ interactions with the system and their perceptions were collected and analysed through the lens of Activity Theory. The analysis highlighted nurses’ positive attitude towards the system and identified potential mediation capabilities as well as areas for improvements. Activity Theory was found to be useful to examine the positive and potentially problematic aspects of this new nursing information system.

Author Biographies

Lemai Nguyen, Department of Information Systems and Business Analytics, Deakin Business School, Deakin University

Dr Lemai Nguyen (Ph.D.)

Senior Lecturer

Department of Information Systems and Business Analytics, Deakin Business School, Deakin University

Honorary Research Affiliate, Epworth Healthcare.

Section Editor Australasian Journal of Information Systems (AJIS).

Nilmini Wickramasinghe, Health Informatics Management, Epworth HealthCare, Faculty of Health, Deakin University

Professor-Director Health Informatics Management
Epworth HealthCare,

Professor Health Informatics Management
Deakin University

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Published

2017-03-08

How to Cite

Nguyen, L., & Wickramasinghe, N. (2017). An Examination of the Mediating Role for a Nursing Information System. Australasian Journal of Information Systems, 21. https://doi.org/10.3127/ajis.v21i0.1387

Issue

Vol. 21 (2017)

Section

Research on Health Information Systems

License

AJIS publishes open-access articles distributed under the terms of a Creative Commons Non-Commercial and Attribution License which permits non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and AJIS are credited. All other rights including granting permissions beyond those in the above license remain the property of the author(s).