Exploring Cultural Strain and Burnout Related to Digital Health Care System Among Nurses: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Background: Nurses are central to the effectiveness of digital healthcare systems, serving as primary users as well as facilitators. Nurses are the individuals who monitor digital system and online reporting along with care required by patients. Worldwide increase in digital strain and burnout has been observed. Along with benefits of digital healthcare system, nurses have also encountered some challenges. Digital-cultural strain, which can exacerbate stress and lead to burnout, is caused by a mismatch between nurses' cultural values, professional identities, and emotional capacities and the demands of technology.
Research Gap: The majority of burnout research is quantitative, Western-focused, and sees nurses as a homogeneous group, despite the fact that digitization is changing nursing practice globally, particularly through EHRs and AI tools. Furthermore, the cultural background is understudied, especially in Pakistan. There is an excessive dependence on surveys and a lack of first-hand information. There is no qualitative justification for department-specific EHR loads (ICU, ED, psychiatry).
Objectives: To explore nurses’ experiences of cultural strain and burnout associated with the use of digital health care systems in clinical practice.
Method: A qualitative exploratory study was conducted to investigate the nurses’ experiences of cultural strain and burnout related to digital health care system in clinical practice. In order to find the data fifteen registered nurses who had experience of digital health care systems were recruited through purposive sampling. In depth interviews were conducted to get information from the participants. Each interview was then transcribed by the researcher. The researcher manually assessed the data once it had been transcribed. Thematic analysis of the data revealed six major themes. The researcher used thematic analysis to identify various themes and sub-themes that emerged from the interviews.
Results: To determine the research findings six main themes were generated. The main themes were as, resistance among nurses to digital transformation; conflict between traditional versus digital care; high workload of electronic documentation; lack of organizational support; emotional exhaustion among nurses and adaptation and resilience strategies among nurses. These themes were further divided into Initial discomfort, Generational difference, Perceived loss of professional competence, Divided attention between caring and documentation, Reduced nurse patient interaction, Change in nurses’ professional identity, Frequent data entry overload, Time pressure, Extended working hours, Inadequate training, Limited technical support, Lack of nurse involvement, Mental and Cognitive overload, Work-family Imbalance, Reduced motivation and burnout, Anxiety related to digital documentation, Peer support, Personal time management, Personal Coping strategies
Conclusion: The study's conclusions show that the shift to digital healthcare offers nursing practice both opportunities and challenges. The Nurses participated in this study acknowledged the benefits from digital health care technologies to enhance patient safety and improve monitoring. Along with the benefits, the use of digital care technology also brought some undesired resistance, cultural strains and increased burden of electronic documentation.
Implication & Contribution: Easily available technical support, responsive IT services, and supportive leadership will help nurses to be prepared for the new era challenges. It may help nurses to free up more time for nurses to oversee patient care