Nursing Students’ Computer Self-Efficacy and Attitudes toward Its Use in The Health Care Setting: A Comparative Study

Context: The use of technology and computers in health care has been reported to improve nurses' decision-making and competencies, which in turn increase the quality of health-care practice. Aim: of this study is to assess and compare nursing students’ computer self-efficacy and attitudes toward its use in a health care setting in the Faculty of nursing – Benha and Hail Universities. Methods: A descriptive comparative cross-sectional study design was used to achieve the current study aim.  The study conducted in the Faculty of Nursing - Banha University, Egypt, and Faculty of Nursing – Hail University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Quota sampling of 219 students was chosen as follows; 190 students from the Faculty of Nursing - Banha University and 29 students from the Faculty of Nursing – Hail University. A structured self-administered questionnaire covering sociodemographic data, the pretest for attitudes toward computers in healthcare, and computer self-efficacy scales were the tool used to collect the study data.  Results: 33% of nursing students from Benha University were have a realistic view of current computer capabilities in health care. In contrast, 28% of nursing students from Hail had a very positive view of computer use in health care. Nursing students at Hail University have the highest mean score compared to Benha nursing students (79.45±15.85 & 61.2±7.25, respectively) in their attitudes toward computer and computer self-efficacy. Benha nursing students have moderate computer self-efficacy compared with Hail nursing students who have a high computer self-efficacy level. A highly statistically significant relationship was detected between students' attitudes toward computers and computer self-efficacy (p-value=0.000). Also, there was a highly positive, statistically significant correlation between the demographic variables of nursing students and both students’ attitudes toward computers in health care and computer self-efficacy (p-value =0.00). Conclusion: Nursing students in both universities have a positive attitude toward computer use. A significant difference between the mean scores of the two groups in their attitude toward computer and self-efficacy was detected, with a highly statistically significant correlation between both students’ attitudes and their self-efficacy. Also, a significant relationship revealed between the studied students’ demographics and their attitude and self-efficacy. Future studies are recommended to evaluate existing technologies in terms of acceptance, effectiveness, and efficiency in real-life settings and to examine its effect on patient outcomes.  Nurse educators should design training courses and educational programs to enhance computer self-efficacy beliefs among nursing students.