Awareness and knowledge of telenursing care and its associated factors among nurses in a resource-limited setting, northwest Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study

Nursing care practice in most developing countries is challenged due to a lack of effective methods, physical limitations, and a shortage of nurses’ professionals to provide nursing care for patients. But there is no evidence about awareness and knowledge of telenursing care. So, this study aimed to fill the evidence gap regarding telenursing awareness or knowledge among nurses in resource limited settings. An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 422 nurses at a specialized teaching referral hospital from May 16 to July 18, 2022. A simple random sampling technique was applied to select study participants. Descriptive statistics were done through a table and a bar graph. A binary logistic regression analysis was done, and 95% confidence intervals with a P-value of less than 0.05 were employed to identify factors associated with telenursing awareness and knowledge. Four hundred fifteen (415) nurses were included for analysis, with a response rate of 98.5%. Among study participants, 49.4% and 45.8% of them had good awareness and knowledge toward telenursing care, respectively. Educational level, job experience, source of information, digital training, internet access, and computer training were factors associated with a nurse's awareness of telenursing care. Moreover, nurses' awareness, social media use, experience contacting clients or patients online, source of information, research, digital training, and computer training were factors associated with nurses' knowledge of telenursing care. and recommendation: Overall, nurses' awareness and knowledge about telenursing care were low. Considering factors and the user's preference could inform the implementation strategy for improving nurses' awareness and knowledge regarding telenursing care for future acceptance, use, and implantation.