Dear HIFA colleagues,
Here is a paper that was identified in the mHEALTH-INNOVATE scoping review. Unfortunately the full text is restricted access. Citation, abstract and a comment from me below.
CITATION: Int J Nurs Pract. 2017 Oct;23(5). doi: 10.1111/ijn.12577. Epub 2017 Jul 28.
Nurses' use of mobile instant messaging applications: A uses and gratifications perspective
John Robert Bautista, Trisha T C Lin
PMID: 28752519 DOI: 10.1111/ijn.12577
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ijn.12577
ABSTRACT
Aim: To explore how and why mobile instant messaging applications are used by Filipino nurses as part of their work.
Methods: Guided by the uses and gratifications theory, in-depth interviews with 20 staff nurses working in 9 hospitals (ie, 4 private and 5 public hospitals) in the Philippines were conducted in July 2015. Interview data were analysed through a phenomenological perspective to thematic analysis.
Results: Results show that mobile instant messaging applications such as Facebook Messenger and Viber were mostly used by staff nurses and these were accessed using their own smartphones. Thematic analysis indicates that they were used to meet staff nurses' need for information exchange, socialization, and catharsis. Moreover, user interactions vary depending on members within a chat group. For instance, communication via mobile instant messaging applications are much formal when superiors are included in a chat group.
Conclusion: In general, the results show that mobile instant messaging applications are routinely used by Filipino staff nurses not only for clinical purposes (ie, information exchange) but also for non-clinical purposes (ie, socialization and catharsis). This paper ends with several practical and theoretical implications including future research directions.
COMMENT: This paper demonstrates why and how nurses use instant messaging apps, and how content of messages reflects membership of the groups (as it would for face-to-face group communication). It would be interesting to see illustrated examples of communications, but unfortunately the paper is restricted access.
Are you aware of any other relevant studies or reports on the use of mobile phones by health workers? Please send to: hifa@hifaforums.org
Best wishes, Neil
Joint Coordinator, HIFA mHEALTH-INNOVATE
https://www.hifa.org/dgroups-rss/mhealth-innovate-1-what-can-we-learn-he...
Neil Pakenham-Walsh, Global Coordinator HIFA, www.hifa.org neil@hifa.org
Working in official relations with WHO
