Abstract:
The purpose of this thesis is to investigate whether and how useful electronic whiteboard software is to emergency department (ED) staff based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM).This thesis aims to present and analyse the combined results from a review of the literature and an on-site data collection, and it will discuss how this reflects on the clinical usefulness of an ED electronic whiteboard. The study participants were the clinical staff of an emergency department. The entire population of 58 staff was invited to participate in questionnaires and interviews, with 13 questionnaire responses (22.4% response rate), and 22 interviews (37.9% response rate). Respondents completed questionnaires online by indicating their agreement/disagreement with a statement regarding the electronic whiteboard. Interviews were conducted one-on-one, and were digitally recorded, transcribed, and thematically analysed. The sample size (n=13) of the questionnaire was not large enough to conduct a full statistical analysis; instead, results were descriptively analysed by plotting frequency distribution graphs. Analysis of the questionnaire results revealed ED clinicians perceived the whiteboard to be both useful and easy to use; however, some outliers indicated a small number of staff disagreed. There was also uncertainty about whether the system was easy to use. Analysis of interview recordings revealed the largest divide in terms of values between clinicians were based on experience and position, i.e. senior vs. junior staff. Senior staff favoured features tailored towards administration and management, and junior staff prioritised relevance to patient care. Interviews also revealed that many clinicians link the software’s ease of use to their perceptions about its usefulness. The major determinants of usefulness to clinicians were the software’s integration with multiple information systems, along with the quality of data provided. The influence of perceived ease of use on usefulness was prominent in the ED, coinciding with findings from TAM literature. This research also highlighted that changes in work practice caused by the whiteboard can create problems as well as solve others.