The effect of nurses' technology use frequency on care-focused patient interaction and nurses collaboration in the pandemic process

Aim: The aim of this study is to examine the effects of nurses' frequency of technology use on caring nurse patient interaction and collaboration between nurses during the pandemic. Material and Method: The research is descriptive-cross-sectional and was conducted with nurses working in a Training and Research Hospital on January 24, 2022 and April 29, 2022. The study data was finalized with 400 nurses. Ethics committee and institutional permission were obtained to conduct the study. ''Descriptive Information Form, ''Caring Nurse Patient Interaction Scale Nurses' Version Short Form", and "Nurse-Nurse Collaboration Scale'' were used in the study. The data were evaluated with descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analysis by using SPSS Statistics 22.0 statistical software. Results: It was found that 63.2% of the participants were female, mean age of the participants was 33.9±6.4, and 26.3% of the participants were working in Covid units. It was found that 64.75% of the participants spent three or more hours with their smart phone, 57.8% met their basic needs through online shopping during the pandemic, the frequency of contact with the phone was increased in 48% of the participants, while the time spent on the internet was increased in 48.3%. Mean scores of the participants from Caring Nurse Patient Interaction Scale Nurses' Version Short Form were found as 101.26±10.15 in importance dimension, 96.10±11.37 in competence dimension and 86.47±14.46 in feasibility dimension. Increase in the time spent on the computer decreases the importance placed on caring nurse patient interaction (p<0.05). Correlation was found between caring nurse patient interaction feasibility dimension and mechanical ventilator and the time spent on the phone, with a positive correlation with mechanical ventilator and a negative correlation with smart phone use (p<0.05). Mean Nurse-Nurse Collaboration Scale score was found as 3.09±0.41 and the lowest mean score of the scale was found in communication sub-dimension (2.84±0.40). It was found that the time spent on the mechanic ventilator and patient monitoring had an effect on the collaboration between nurses, showing a positive correlation with the time spent with mechanical ventilator and a negative correlation with the time spent for patient monitoring (p<0.05). Conclusion: It was found that technology use of nurses during the pandemic period affected caring nurse patient interaction and collaboration among nurses. Activities can be organized to increase communication and interaction among nurses. In addition, interventions can be made to prevent problematic technology use in disasters such as pandemic.