Caring is the essential and universal concept of underlying nursing. Exactly how caring attributes relate to nurses´ perception in the context of a contemporary technological environment have yet to be operationlized.
In total, 560 Registered Nurses from 5 different university hospitals were involved in this study which aimed to : investigate technological influence and caring attributes as perceived by nurse. Data were obtained using Technological Influence Questionnaire(TIQ) and Caring Attributes Questionnaires(CAQ) which developed by Arthur et al(1999).
Data were analyzed using SAS program for frequency, t-test, ANOVA and Tukey´s Studentized Range test, and Pearson correlation coefficients.
The results were as follows :
1) The mean score of TIQ was 48.84 and special unit nurses´ TIQ was higher than that of general ward nurses.
2) The mean score of CAQ was 237.02 and it showed significant differences in the following variables : age, religion. educational background, marital status, career, and position.
3) With regard to the mean item score of CAQ by 3 perspectives : theoretical perspectives score was 3.76, practical perspectives score was 4.03, and pedagogical perspectives score was 3.84.
4) The correlation between TIQ score and CAQ score was slightly moderate (r=.35).
The CAQ mean score was significantly different accordig to the level of TIQ mean score. The CAQ mean score was 247.19(±18.17) in high TIQ(>mean+lSD) group. 236.21(±19.71) in moderate TIQ(between mean±1SD) group, and 228.47( 18.07) in low TIQ(In conclusion, nurses perceived the CAQ differently by several demographic characteristics which relating to age, religion, eduacational background, marital status, career, and position. This study provides an important message for administrators and nurse educators by highlighting factors which can be addressed by education programs, staff development and appraisal. Further research is necessary to improve and refine the Korean version of TIQ and CAQ instead of Arthur et al´s scales directly to Korean nurses.
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