Technology Utilisation: A survey of Computer Literacy levels among Health Personnel at Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital.

Abstract

The study explored the levels of computer literacy among health personnel at Chinhoyi provincial hospital in Zimbabwe. This was necessitated by the observation that, computers are not being utilized. in nursing schools. A descriptive research design was used to collect data from a random sample of 30 nurses who responded to questionnaires administered by the researchers. Findings revealed that, the level of computer literacy among nurses was low. The majority of them (63%) are familiar with Microsoft Word and the Internet. The study attributes this distribution of computer knowledge to the software's high utility value. None of the tutors were aware of how to use power point and computer aided instruction. None of the nurses knew any programme that can be used to monitor patients. There was no association between computer literacy level and gender. Those nurses who are computer literate acquired the skills out of the nursing field. Factors accounting for this level of computer literacy include the limited availability of computers in schools of nursing and lack of the need to use them. The study recommends that, nurse education curriculum planners revise the nursing education curriculum with the aim of including computers. The current shortage of computers can be reduced by charging each nursing student an extra $ 20,00 to raise funds for computers. Workshops can be held to raise awareness of computer programmes for monitoring patients. Courses in computers may be introduced in the nursing curriculum and that students submit computer typed assignments to increase computer utility value among nurses.