Iranian Clinical Nurses’ and Midwives’ Attitudes and Awareness Towards Telenursing and Telehealth: A cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to examine the attitudes and awareness of Iranian clinical nurses and midwives towards telenursing and telehealth also referred to as e-health. METHODS: The cross-sectional study was conducted from February to August 2019 in Iran. Nurses and midwives were randomly recruited from hospitals affiliated with Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in Mashhad, Iran using a stratified cluster random sampling method. Data were collected using a reliable and valid Persian-language questionnaire consisting of 32 close-ended survey items to examine Internet/computer access, daily Internet use and awareness of and general attitude towards telehealth and telenursing; statistical analyses were performed. RESULTS: A total of 523 nurses and midwives were included in this study (response rate: 94.4%). The mean age and duration of clinical practice were 33.36 ± 7.46 and 8.88 ± 6.73 years, respectively. The majority of participants recognised the definition of telenursing (66.7%) and telehealth (80.1%). A positive attitude towards telenursing and telehealth was reported by 73.0% of the participants. Clinical nurses and midwives with a master’s degree were more aware of the definition of telehealth compared to those with undergraduate bachelor degrees (P = 0.03). Additionally, midwives significantly more frequently presented a positive attitude towards telehealth and telenursing compared to nurses (86.2% versus 71.2%; P = 0.01). CONCLUSION: The positive attitude of the current participants was an important factor in the promotion of telenursing and telehealth. The implementation of educational and infrastructure developmental programs can help speed up executional processes in these fields.