Master's Theses

Department

Nursing

Degree Name

Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)

Abstract

Persons considered hardy view change as a challenge, feel deeply committed to and involved in life activities, and believe they can control events in their life. A change that has become increasingly evident in healthcare is the utilization of computers. How nurses perceive and respond to this change may be rooted in their personality characteristics with hardiness being one of these characteristics. The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship exists between personality hardiness and nurses' attitudes toward computerization, Personality theories suggest this possibility. However, exposure of nurses to computers has historically been limited and studies have indicated their attitudes toward computers have been relatively negative. This investigation examined the theory that hardiness may influence attitudes toward computerization. One hundred twenty-five registered nurses from a mid-western, rural, 100-bed, acute care hospital participated in the study. These nurses completed the questionnaires (Fisher's Computer Demographics, Hardiness Scale, and Nurses' Attitude Toward Computerization Questionnaire). The typical respondent was a female, baccalaureate-prepared nurse who had worked at the hospital for less than five years. The mean score on the Hardiness Scale (5.9) indicated an overall moderate level of personality hardiness. The mean score on the Attitude Questionnaire (78.6) identified a moderately positive altitude. A Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated for the hardiness scores and the attitude scores. A strongly significant relationship was shown (p < 0.01). Other variables such as age, education level, gender, unit worked and home computer ownership were tested with relationship to hardiness and attitude toward computerization. The sub-components of hardiness (i.e. commitment, control, and challenge) were also submitted to scrutiny. Several statistically significant relationships were found. A limitation of the study was that only one hospital was utilized, reducing the ability to generalize the findings to other populations. Future research replicating the investigation should consider utilizing matched sampling techniques with two or more hospitals. A follow-up study could also be done to compare hardiness and attitudes toward computerization after the implementation of a computer system.

Keywords

Nursing

Advisor

Mary R. Hassett

Date of Award

Fall 1992

Document Type

Thesis - campus only access

Rights

© The Author(s)

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