Date of Conferral

2021

Degree

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

School

Nursing

Advisor

Marilyn S. Losty

Abstract

Limited access to healthcare services is a factor that can reduce quality of care, and it is more pronounced in rural settings. One plausible solution to this concern is telemedicine, the use of electronic information and telecommunication technologies to provide care when an individual and provider are not in the same location. Although telemedicine has been suggested as a solution to the access to care concern, it is not widely integrated into the nursing practice. Using Nightingale’s holistic theory of caring, the purpose of this DNP project was to determine if an educational study geared towards telemedicine increased knowledge and confidence among RNs and LPNs practicing in a rural acute care facility. A total of 10 individuals (RNs and LPNs) were recruited and agreed to participate in a self-phased educational intervention. Following a pretest, participants reviewed a self-phased educational intervention focused on telemedicine and then completed a posttest. The average pretest score was 16.7 (SD = 6.37) and the average posttest score was 32.6 (SD = 5.16). Using a Likert Scale of 1 to 7, with 1 = not at all and 7 = extremely confident, the participants were asked to rate their confidence in the use of telemedicine. The average pretest confidence score was 1.7 (SD = 0.67) and the average posttest confidence score was 4.6 (SD = 1.34). A Wilcoxon Signed Rank test indicated a statistically significant difference in pretest and posttest scores (z = -2.80, p < 0.01) and in pretest and posttest confidence levels (z = -2.81, p < 0.01). The results of this project contribute to positive social change by increasing the nurses’ knowledge and confidence in the use of telemedicine, which may translate to an increased use of telemedicine and improved access to care for patients living in rural areas.

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