Positive and negative expectations regarding electronic health in Bulgaria ‒ survey of nurses and midwives

Information for nursing staff, 2022, 55(3), 3-11.

I. Karabova-Hambarova, N. Mateva

Medical University ‒ Plovdiv

Abstract. The COVID-19 emergency emphasized the need to rely on eHealth as a valuable resource in the health systems development. The effective eHealth implementation and application require awareness and appropriate healthcare specialists’ attitudes. The present study aims to explore nurses’ and midwives’ positive and negative expectations towards eHealth implementation in Bulgaria. A questionnaire was used for the research, and the answers of 65 nurses and midwives were collected and analyzed. The software product SPSSv.19 was used for statistical processing. The results show that the most expected benefits from eHealth implementation are related to improved coordination in the health system (73.4% agreement), improved communication between health professionals (69.8% agreement), and improved patient care through the use of electronic medical record (64.6% agreement). The potential problems outlined in this research are lack of digital skills of health professionals (60.00 % agreement), security and control related issues (59.4% agreement), non-regulation of eHealth services payment (58.5% agreement) and insufficient health technology training (55.4% agreement). Though the responders demonstrated a positive attitude towards eHealth, improved comprehension of eHealth benefits and appropriate training of healthcare professionals tailored to the current stage of eHealth development in Bulgaria are required.

Key words: electronic health, attitudes, nurses, midwives

Address for correspondence: Irena Karabova-Hambarova, e-mail: irena.hambarova@mu-plovdiv.bg