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Does online learning click with rural nurses? A qualitative study
Author(s) -
Riley Kim,
Schmidt David
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
australian journal of rural health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.48
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1440-1584
pISSN - 1038-5282
DOI - 10.1111/ajr.12263
Subject(s) - qualitative research , computer science , medical education , psychology , medicine , sociology , social science
Objective To explore the factors that influence rural nurses engagement with online learning within a rural health district in N ew S ound W ales ( NSW ), A ustralia. Design This qualitative study based on appreciative inquiry methodology used semi‐structured interviews with managers and nurses. Purposive sampling methods were used to recruit facility managers, whereas convenience sampling was used to recruit nurses in 2012–2013. Setting Three public health facilities in rural NSW . Participants Fourteen nurses were involved in the study, including H ealth S ervice M anagers ( n = 3), N urse U nit M anager ( n = 1), C linical N urse S pecialists ( n = 3), R egistered N urses ( n = 2), E nrolled N urses ( n = 2) and A ssistant in N ursing ( n = 3). Main outcome measure The research found that online learning works well when there is accountability for education being undertaken by linking to organisational goals and protected time. N urses in this study valued the ability to access and revisit online learning at any time. However, systems that are hard to access or navigate and module design that did not provide a mechanism for users to seek feedback negatively affected their use and engagement. Conclusion This study demonstrates that rural nurses' engagement with online learning would be enhanced by a whole of system redesign in order to deliver a learning environment that will increase satisfaction, engagement and learning outcomes.