A qualitative study on the use of personal digital assistants and smartphones among interns and residents of Hazrat Rasool Akram and Imam-Khomeini hospitals

摘要

IntroductionudHandheld computers such as Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and smartphones are playing an increasing role to improve healthcare services by making information available at the point of care. The aim of the present study was to investigate how medical interns and residents retrieve information when using handheld devices. Furthermore, This study investigates the benefits and barriers of using handheld computers in clinical activities, and factors affecting adoption handheld computers among medical interns and residents.udMethodologyudWe conducted this qualitative study, using a semi-structured interview protocol. We selected the subjects of the study, using the purposive snowball sampling method. We carried out in-depth interviews with 21 medical interns and residents from May through September 2011. NVivo Software was use to codify and analyze the data.udFindingsudParticipants usually used PDAs and smartphones for web search, personal information management and communication in daily activities. They also used handheld computers for searching medical databases and drug references, reading electronic books and web search. Participants believed that usefulness, ease of use, education, organizational factors, individual features, social influences, observability, compatibility and job characteristics were the main factors affecting the adoption of these devices in medical settings. It was found that the most important benefits of using handheld computers included easy access and instant delivery of health information, medical errors reduction, access to evidence based and up-to-date medical information, portability, improving clinical decision makings and treatment quality. Three limitation categories of usage were also identified upon data analysis: Limitations related to handheld computers, individual barriers, and external limitations.ududConclusionudSignificant development and effective changes are taking place in the field of medicine by the emergence of handheld computers in clinical settings; but in developing countries like Iran it is in its childhood period and needs more attention. It is important to use supportive tools like mobile technologies in healthcare organizations for better patient care. Healthcare managers and policy makers can use findings of current study for a better integration of handheld computers in medical settings. They can apply encouraging factors in hospitals, medical centers and clinics to make mobile technologies as popular devices among healthcare professionals. ud