Answer 3 for DNP 805 Select one informatics theory from the areas of Communication Theories, Change Theories, or Human Factors
Nursing informatics has become a critical health care field as health care providers continue embracing technology and science in patient care. Through the use of information, technology, and related processes, nursing informatics supports decision-making for health care professionals and patients and makes processes more efficient and accurate. Informatics theories include concepts and relationships serving as the foundation of widely used frameworks. Such frameworks define nursing informatics and its underlying concepts.
Among many theories, Patricia Schwirian’s NI pyramid provides a theoretical framework for defining nursing informatics and its application in patient care. According to Schwirian, nursing informatics involves using information technology in any functions within the nurse’s scope of practice (Mankowitz, 2018). The pyramid contains four elements. They include raw materials such as patient observations, technology, users, and the objective (Mankowitz, 2018). The Schwirian model demonstrates that nursing informatics works best through relationships. Besides, nurses should apply information technologies to achieve a specific objective.
Regarding strengths, Schwirian emphasizes the value of information technology in improving patient care. Information technology can be used to facilitate communication between health care professionals, tracking patient care, and reporting outcomes (Griffin & Chung, 2020). Such benefits are instrumental in optimizing health outcomes since efficient communication is the foundation of interprofessional collaboration. Despite these strengths, the NI pyramid focuses on one dimension of informatics- information technology. According to Alexander et al. (2019), comprehensive informatics application encompasses information, computer, and nursing sciences. Secondly, the NI pyramid focuses primarily on the nurse’s role despite the health care profession being broader in scope.
Theories inform health care professionals in decision-making, communication, and care coordination, among other crucial aspects of care. They provide concepts that advanced practice nurses apply to solve dilemmas, implement an intervention, and improve relationships. Many theories define and explore the application of informatics. The NI pyramid by Patricia Schwirian demonstrates the relationships necessary in applying information technology to optimize patient care.
References
Alexander, S., Frith, K. H., & Hoy, H. (Eds.). (2019). Applied clinical informatics for nurses (2nd ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Griffin, A. C., & Chung, A. E. (2020). Health tracking and information sharing in the patient-centered era: A Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) Study. AMIA … Annual Symposium proceedings. AMIA Symposium, 2019, 1041–1050. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7153080/#
Mankowitz, S. (Ed.). (2018). Clinical informatics board review and self assessment. Springer.
