Technology anxiety as a potential mediating factor in response to medical technology.
Technology anxiety, defined as a fear of working with medical equipment, was measured via the use of the Technology Response Questionnaire. Nurses (N = 414) working on nine types of nursing units at two hospitals participated in the study. Nurses working on psychiatric units were found to be most anxious about working with medical equipment, while nurses working on surgical and adult intensive care units were least anxious. A comparison of the nurses who were highest and lowest on technology anxiety indicated that those who were most anxious about technology were less positive toward computers, felt more stressed by their work, were lower on job satisfaction, less positive toward the physicians they worked with, lower on personality scales of autonomy and adaptability, were less likely to do care planning regularly or to use nursing diagnoses, and tended to be older than less anxious nurses.
Kjerulff
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KH
Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore 21201.
Pillar
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B
Mills
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ME
Lanigan
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D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001292:Attitude to Computers; D016002:Discriminant Analysis; D006746:Hospital Bed Capacity, 500 and over; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D013677:Medical Laboratory Science; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology*; D010552:Personality Assessment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States