Perception and utilization of standardised electronic health records among nurses in JOS university teaching hospital Plateau State, Nigeria

Standardized electronic health record is becoming the global standard for clinical practice. This provides the needed data for healthcare planning. It can also improve quality of care, accuracy of patients’ information and interdisciplinary communication among other benefits. The study therefore aimed at evaluating the perception and utilization of standardized electronic health records among nurses in Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), Jos, Nigeria. The target population was 528 nurses in JUTH, Nigeria. A descriptive survey was adopted for the study. Data was collected using questionnaire as the instrument for the study, which was validated and found reliable with a Content Validity Index of 0.75 and a reliability coefficient of 0.98. Sample size of 228 was obtained using Slovin’s formula. Participants were selected using stratified random sampling technique. 228 questionnaires were distributed and 228 were retrieved. This formed a response rate of 100%. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 and Microsoft excel 2013 version were used for the analysis in order to avoid errors due to manual calculations. Data generated from the study were analyzed and presented using descriptive statistics such as frequency tables, percentages, and mean; and inferential statistics such as chi-square to test hypotheses. Findings revealed that majority of the respondents (85.1%) were females between 31-52years with a mean age of 45.6years, with a working duration of 11-30 years (Mean working duration=18years). Further findings revealed that majority of the respondents (76.8%) had positive perceptions about standardized electronic health records. However, majority of the respondents (75.4%) were not utilizing standardized electronic health records. Chi-square analysis (X2 = 0.812, df = 2, significant level of 0.05, critical value of 5.991) revealed that there was no significant relationship between Nurses’ perception and utilization of standardized electronic health records in Jos University Teaching Hospital. It is therefore recommended that the teaching hospital should adopt standardized electronic health record as a standard for documentation practice.