The Widening Gap between the Digital Capability of the Care Workforce and Technology-Enabled Healthcare Delivery: A Nursing and Allied Health Analysis

Abstract

There is a need to ensure that healthcare organisations enable their workforces to use digital methods in service delivery. This study aimed to evaluate the current level of digital understanding and ability in nursing, midwifery, and allied health workforces and identify some of the training requirements to improve digital literacy in these health professionals. Representatives from eight healthcare organizations in Victoria, Australia participated in focus groups. Three digital frameworks informed the focus group topic guide that sought to examine the barriers and enablers to adopting digital healthcare along with training requirements to improve digital literacy. Twenty-three participants self-rated digital knowledge and skills using Likert scales and attended the focus groups. Mid-range scores were given for digital ability in nursing, midwifery, and allied health professionals. Focus group participants expressed concern over the gap between their organizations’ adoption of digital methods relative to their digital ability, and there were concerns about cyber security. Participants also saw a need for the inclusion of consumers in digital design. Given the widening gap between digital innovation and health workforce digital capability, there is a need to accelerate digital literacy by rapidly deploying education and training and policies and procedures for digital service delivery.

Facilitators and barriers in the use of the electronic consultation register for Integrated Management of Childhood Illness in the health district of Toma, Burkina Faso: Perspectives of health care providers

“…The ECR, therefore, appears in this context as a guide to diagnosis and treatment because it shows healthcare providers what questions to ask and what procedures to follow and often reminds them of what to do next. There is a need to ensure that healthcare organizations can use digital tools for service delivery (Morris et al, 2023).…”

“…Thus, the fact that health workers go through pages of paper protocols to obtain (Morris et al, 2023).…”

ParkinSong Online: Feasibility of Telehealth Delivery and Remote Data Collection for a Therapeutic Group Singing Study in Parkinson’s

“…Ongoing technology support would be important to factor into future group-based telehealth singing interventions with this population in order for the sessions not to be disrupted. Therapists also need support for implementing online therapy as capability and experience with online platforms can be limited for therapists, 62 as well as the need to manage low digital literacy of some participants.…”

Optimising the implementation of digital-supported interventions for the secondary prevention of heart disease: a systematic review using the RE-AIM planning and evaluation framework

“…Typically, studies that examine clinical or behavioural outcomes fail to report the organisational level dimensions of the RE-AIM framework (adoption, implementation, and maintenance) [ 60 ]. To ensure that healthcare organisations enable their workforces to use digital methods in service delivery design and implementation must attempt to close the gap between an organizations’ adoption of digital methods relative to their digital ability [ 61 ].…”