Nursing Informatics Theory

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NURSING INFORMATICS THEORY

Introduction

Nursing informatics is a branch of nursing or area of specialty that concentrates on finding ways to improve data management and communication in nursing with the sole objective of improving efficiency, reduction of health costs, and enhancement of the quality of patient care (Murphy, 2010). It is also described as a growing area of nursing specialty that combines computer science, information technology, and nursing science in the management and processing of nursing information, data, and knowledge with the sole objective of supporting nursing practice and research. Various nursing theorists have formulated various theoretical frameworks or models related to nursing informatics (Wager, Lee, & Glaser, 2013), and they are defined as a cluster of related concepts or ideas that establish actions that act as major guidelines in nursing informatics to issues related to the central concept of data, information, and knowledge. Some of the theories that inform and assist in the framing of nursing informatics include Turley’s nursing informatics model, Goosen’s framework for nursing informatics research, and Staggers & Parks’ nurse-computer interaction framework (Elkind, 2009).Therefore, this paper provides analysis of Goosen’s framework for nursing informatics research and its relevance and applicability to the nursing profession.

Nursing Informatics Theory

“Goosen’s framework for nursing informatics research”

Various models have been formulated that describe different aspects of nursing informatics, and many of them were developed with the sole objective of providing a conceptual framework for the nursing discipline. Goosen conceptual framework for nursing informatics research is considered as a component of nursing informatics theories or conceptual models, and it was formulated in 1996 as an extension of Graves and Corcoran’s 1989 model (Goosen, 2000).

The conceptual model origin was with William Goosen himself. Goosen began to develop foundations of nursing informatics while he was a postgraduate nursing student in Tweedegraads Leraren Opleiding Verpleegkunde in late 1980s. Goossen earned his nursing diploma in 1978, and his interest in nursing informatics started in 1985 when he became a nursing tutor first at the Alexander Moormann Institute in Arnhem and later at Noordelijke Hogeschool Leeuwarden until the late 1990s from where he earned his PhD in medical sciences at the University of Groningen in 2000 (Wager, Lee, & Glaser, 2013). While working as a nursing tutor, Goosen encountered numerous issues such as lack of substantive and structured body of nursing informatics knowledge, and with this knowledge gap, he continued to advance the field of nursing informatics with the sole objective of improving the quality of nursing care. Currently, Goosen is a well renowned researcher and consultant in nursing informatics at Acquest research and development centre in the Netherlands and he is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the College of Nursing at the University of Minnesota (USA), and a lector for health Information Technology at Hogeschool Windesheim (Netherlands). He is also currently involved in the development electronic health records and other applications utilized in health information technology (Goosen, 2000).

Goosen conceptual framework for nursing informatics research depicts nursing informatics as a specialty of nursing practice (Wager, Lee, & Glaser, 2013)., which consists of a “combination of computer science, information science, and nursing science that assists in the management and processing of nursing data, information, and knowledge with the sole objective of supporting nursing practice” (Goosen, 2000). This conceptual framework establishes a continuum where nurses convert raw data collected from the nursing field first into information, from where the information is converted into knowledge that is used to make clinical decisions (Elkind, 2009).

This theory is composed of two exceptional groups that consist of classes of information (data, knowledge, information) and classes of control (decision, action, evaluation), which are aligned in a chronological process (Goosen, 2000). The first category consists of: 1) Data: – it is categorized as the smallest and the most important component of Goosen theory, and consist of discrete entities that are unprocessed or impartially left without interpretation. Examples include patients’ medical diagnosis and patients’ demographics data such age, height, and place of residence. 2) Information: – refers to the data that is processed, interpreted, and structured in an orderly manner. According to this conceptual framework, information is perceived as a continuum of progressively constructed data (Wager, Lee, & Glaser, 2013). 3) Knowledge: – refers to the information that has been synthesized to build logical meanings. Knowledge is assumed as a tenet of conceptual assumption or philosophy, and it is derived by aligning different clusters of data and information, and they are dependent on the elements of accuracy and quality. The second category consists of: 1) Decision: – refers to the use of the collected and analyzed information to make clinical decisions. This is where the role of nursing is established and decisions are made based on the processed and interpreted information. 2) Action: – refers to the “acts or behaviors” of nurses in practice and involves implementation of nursing decisions. According to this model, nursing actions are taken in response to a nursing decision with view to produce a nursing outcome. 3) Evaluation: – consists of protocols that establish patients’ outcomes and assessment of the nursing care provided (Goosen, 2000).

This conceptual framework is compatible with the current nursing informatics interventions and theoretical frameworks, and this is because the model was refined and re-developed by the Academy of Nursing’s Expert Panel on Quality Health Care; ANA (Murphy, 2010). The theory can therefore be applied in nursing practice to develop nursing informatics skills and knowledge, and as well as develop technological system competencies among practicing nurses to collect, process, retrieve, and communicate pertinent information across health care organizations (Goosen, 2000). This theory is highly applicable in addressing matters related to electronic health records, which are currently characterized with issues of privacy and confidentiality in relation to storage, retrieval, and reproduction of patients’ health information. This model also provides broad applicability in guiding research at any clinical setting and contributes to the discipline of nursing by simplifying and enhancing documentation and storage of patients’ health information and by allowing better utilization of nursing resources (Elkind, 2009).

Conclusion

Nursing informatics is a young nursing specialty and currently many models have been formulated that facilitate the development of nursing care and restructuring of nursing research. From this research paper, Goosen conceptual framework for nursing informatics research is one of the most effective models that moves beyond nursing informatics definition in establishing conceptual frameworks that provide a model that guide nurses and other caregivers in their professional practices. In conclusion, William Goosen is considered has the father of the modern nursing informatics practices, and this is based on his contributions in regard to the establishment of a model or conceptual framework that is effective in guiding research in many nursing and clinical settings.

References

Elkind, E.C. (2009). Why information systems are helpful to nursing. The Pennsylvania Nurse, 64(1), 24-25.

Goosen, W. (2000).Nursing informatics research. Nurse Res.; 8(2):42–54.

Murphy, J.M. (2010). Nursing informatics: The intersection of nursing, computer, and information sciences. Nursing Economic$, 28(3), 204-207.

Wager, K. A, Lee, F. W., & Glaser, J. P. (2013). Healthcare information systems: A practical approach for healthcare management. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons.