Information and communication technologies and social media in nursing practice: From the perspective of nurses and patients.

OBJECTIVE: To identify and analyze differences in information and communication technology (ICT) knowledge and use between nurses and patients, and to examine how age and educational attainment are associated with these differences in the context of perioperative outpatient nursing care, based on data collected concurrently from both groups. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The tested group consisted of 81 nurses and 209 patients. The average age of the nurses was 41 years, and the average age of the patients was 36 years. This was a cross sectional, prospectively planned quantitative study. A self constructed questionnaire was used to assess levels of ICT knowledge and use. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential tests (Chi square, Mann-Whitney U, and Wilcoxon tests) with a significance level of α = 0.05. RESULTS OF THE RESEARCH: We found statistically significant differences in the level of knowledge about ICT and social media between nurses and patients. Both groups considered ICT knowledge important, but patients rated it as more important than nurses (M = 2.78 vs 2.69; p < 0.001). This indicates a discrepancy between patients' expectations and nurses' perceptions within the same perioperative outpatient services. CONCLUSION OF THE RESEARCH: By comparing responses of nurses and patients within the same perioperative outpatient services, we showed that ICT and social media are perceived as important by both groups, but with different priorities. Education in the home environment using modern ICT, aligned with these distinct perspectives, has the potential to contribute to the prevention of postoperative complications.