Modeling nurses' acceptance of bar coded medication administration technology at a pediatric hospital.
OBJECTIVE
To identify predictors of nurses' acceptance of bar coded medication administration (BCMA).


METHODS
Cross-sectional survey of registered nurses (N=83) at an academic pediatric hospital that recently implemented BCMA.


METHODS
Surveys assessed seven BCMA-related perceptions: ease of use; usefulness for the job; social influence from non-specific others to use BCMA; training; technical support; usefulness for patient care; and social influence from patients/families. An all possible subset regression procedure with five goodness-of-fit indicators was used to identify which set of perceptions best predicted BCMA acceptance (intention to use, satisfaction).


RESULTS
Nurses reported a moderate perceived ease of use and low perceived usefulness of BCMA. Nurses perceived moderate-or-higher social influence to use BCMA and had moderately positive perceptions of BCMA-related training and technical support. Behavioral intention to use BCMA was high, but satisfaction was low. Behavioral intention to use was best predicted by perceived ease of use, perceived social influence from non-specific others, and perceived usefulness for patient care (56% of variance explained). Satisfaction was best predicted by perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness for patient care, and perceived social influence from patients/families (76% of variance explained).


CONCLUSIONS
Variation in and low scores on ease of use and usefulness are concerning, especially as these variables often correlate with acceptance, as found in this study. Predicting acceptance benefited from using a broad set of perceptions and adapting variables to the healthcare context.


CONCLUSIONS
Success with BCMA and other technologies can benefit from assessing end-user acceptance and elucidating the factors promoting acceptance and use.
Departments of Medicine and Biomedical Informatics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. richard.holden@vanderbilt.edu
Richard J
RJ
Holden
Roger L
RL
Brown
Matthew C
MC
Scanlon
Ben-Tzion
BT
Karsh
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D001330:Electronic Data Processing; D005260:Female; D006284:Health Plan Implementation; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008509:Medication Systems; D008875:Middle Aged; D015146:Midwestern United States; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital; D057184:Practice Patterns, Nurses'