Abstract

Session presented on Saturday, July 25, 2015:

Purpose: Radiofrequency identification (RFID) is a technology that uses electronic tags. This research aimed to understand user experiences of an electronic tag (RFID) system used in health care centers.

Methods: This study had a descriptive qualitative research design. Participants were 12 patients and 20 health care workers at health care centers in Korea. Data were collected from March 17 to April 28, 2014, via focus group interviews. After obtaining permission from the participants, each focus group session was audio-taped and transcribed. The responses were analyzed using qualitative content analysis.

Results: The four main themes identified from the sessions with the participants were 'satisfaction with improved quality of services,' 'inconvenience due to unfamiliarity and limited function,' 'gradual improvement of the electronic tag system,' and 'encountering unexpected malfunction of the electronic tag system.' Participants responded that the main benefits of using the electronic tag system were fast examination, efficiency, privacy protection, and prevention of omission or mistakes during the health check-up. However, participants were unsatisfied with some aspects of the tag system because they could not see all the waiting lists on the screen and they had to recheck the screen because the tagging sound was same whether it was tagged correctly or incorrectly. There were individual differences in using the electronic tagging system. Some participants wanted to have more specific information on the tagging system because it is continuously changing and they are unfamiliar with it. Further, some participants encountered malfunctions while using the electronic tag system.

Conclusion: In conclusion, use of an electronic tag system will be beneficial for improving safety and quality of services in health care settings. Health care workers should remember there are individual differences in the use of such systems, and that efforts are needed to minimize the inconvenience to users.

Author Details

Hee Sun Kang, RN; Seongshin Kim, RN

Sigma Membership

Lambda Alpha at-Large

Type

Poster

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

N/A

Research Approach

N/A

Keywords:

Experiences, Technology, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification)

Conference Name

26th International Nursing Research Congress

Conference Host

Sigma Theta Tau International

Conference Location

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Conference Year

2015

Rights Holder

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All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.

All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Acquisition

Proxy-submission

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Patients and health care workers' experiences with the RFID system for health screening

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Session presented on Saturday, July 25, 2015:

Purpose: Radiofrequency identification (RFID) is a technology that uses electronic tags. This research aimed to understand user experiences of an electronic tag (RFID) system used in health care centers.

Methods: This study had a descriptive qualitative research design. Participants were 12 patients and 20 health care workers at health care centers in Korea. Data were collected from March 17 to April 28, 2014, via focus group interviews. After obtaining permission from the participants, each focus group session was audio-taped and transcribed. The responses were analyzed using qualitative content analysis.

Results: The four main themes identified from the sessions with the participants were 'satisfaction with improved quality of services,' 'inconvenience due to unfamiliarity and limited function,' 'gradual improvement of the electronic tag system,' and 'encountering unexpected malfunction of the electronic tag system.' Participants responded that the main benefits of using the electronic tag system were fast examination, efficiency, privacy protection, and prevention of omission or mistakes during the health check-up. However, participants were unsatisfied with some aspects of the tag system because they could not see all the waiting lists on the screen and they had to recheck the screen because the tagging sound was same whether it was tagged correctly or incorrectly. There were individual differences in using the electronic tagging system. Some participants wanted to have more specific information on the tagging system because it is continuously changing and they are unfamiliar with it. Further, some participants encountered malfunctions while using the electronic tag system.

Conclusion: In conclusion, use of an electronic tag system will be beneficial for improving safety and quality of services in health care settings. Health care workers should remember there are individual differences in the use of such systems, and that efforts are needed to minimize the inconvenience to users.