Nursing-Related Smartphone Activities in the Italian Nursing Population: A Descriptive Study

In this study, we describe smartphone-related activities for nurses' work and nonwork purposes; analyzed the differences between smartphone use and nurses' age, gender, and working environment; and observed the influences that personal digital devices have on nurses' performance. We conducted a cross-sectional and correlational study. A convenience sample of nurses was recruited, composed of 256 nurses, mostly women (74.6%) younger than 30 years of age (59%). This study showed that the most frequent work-related smartphone activity was searching for work-related drug references. Smartphones also helped nurses reduce work-related stress and improve unit cohesion and teamwork. Younger nurses and male nurses were more likely than female nurses to use their digital devices during healthcare activities. In addition, 42% of nurses reported that they were distracted by the use of smartphones. If smartphones are used properly, they are certainly helpful tools for improving patient safety and enabling communication among healthcare staff. Otherwise, smartphones can constitute an important source of distraction and endanger patient safety. The authors have disclosed that they have no significant relationships with, or financial interest in, any commercial companies pertaining to this article. All persons who meet authorship criteria are listed as authors, and all authors certify that they have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for the content, including participation in the concept, design, analysis, writing, or revision of the manuscript. Furthermore, each author certifies that this material or similar material has not been and will not be submitted to or published in any other publication before its appearance in the Computers Informatics Nursing. Corresponding author: Gianluca Pucciarelli, PhD, MSN, RN, Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome "Tor Vergata," Viale Vaticano 68 A, Rome, Italy 00165 (g.pucciarelli81@gmail.com). Copyright © 2018 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

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