Evaluation of Technostress Creators among Healthcare Workers in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Technostress is a new form of stress that affects several people, including healthcare workers. Technostress may increase because of the increasing responsibilities and demands that this digitization places on health care workers (HCWs).Technostress has been defined as the negative aspect of technology use. Both individuals and organizations suffer from technostress, which has been linked to negative health outcomes, reduced job performance, increased job discontent, and disruptions in work settings. Addressing technostress among healthcare professionals has received little attention, despite the increasing adoption of technological advances in healthcare facilities. The aim of this study was to investigate the technostress creators among healthcare workers in Family Medicine Centers (FMCs).Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in one of the family medicine centres in Saudi Arabia and included healthcare workers working there. The data were collected through an online questionnaire sent through email from February to March 2024. All the participants took a two-part questionnaire that asked about demographic data and ‎technostress creators (complexity, overload, invasion, uncertainty, multitasking, and work interruption). Informed consent was obtained from all healthcare staff who agreed to participate in the study. The study was approved by the Institutional Research Board (IRB) of the Royal Commission health service program in ‎Jubail.‎Results: In total, 101 participants were enrolled in this study, with a response rate of 79.2%, the result calculated the mean and standard deviation of participants, agreement for ‎technostress. Among all the technostress creators, the highest mean of participants, agreement recorded for techno-complexity (There are always new developments in the digital technologies we use in our organization), showed 4.34±3.23. However, work interruption had a low level in the total mean (2.01± 1.18); the total mean was (3.04±0.70) at level (neutral). Correlations with demographic factors were not discovered in this investigation, which indicates that technostress is a widespread problem that affects practitioners from every category. This generality emphasizes how vital it is to investigate the root origins of this occurrence.Conclusion: This study showed a significant level of technostress among HCWs, especially in techno-complexity, which concurs with other studies. Other creators are still favourable regarding technostress. To achieve a useful and long-lasting level of utilization, decision-makers should take into account the cognitive and social components of digitalization. Additional investigation is required to develop causal and practical models for workable action plans.

Keywords: Technostress, Healthcare, Digitalization, Information technology

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1006780