Nursing students’ experiences with the “DiagNurse” mobile app to support clinical patient assessment – a pilot study

Abstract

Aim. This study aimed to investigate how nursing students utilised the “DiagNurse” mobile app to assess patient health conditions during their clinical apprenticeships. Material and methods. This prospective, quasi-experimental post-test study included a convenience sample of 62 undergraduate nursing students. In the course of the work, they utilized paper-based measurement scales (first measurement) and the mobile app (second measurement) to assess patient health conditions during clinical practice. In total, 432 clinical condition assessments were performed on patients in the first measurement and 432 in the second measurement. Following the clinical assessment, two types of post-tests were employed to ascertain the usability of the mobile app: quantitative testing using the System Usability Scale and qualitative testing. Results. The mean SUS score was 80.2 (SD 15.67). The majority of the students agreed that the utilisation of the mobile app to assess a patient’s health condition is faster (M=3.21) and more convenient (M=3.16) than the use of paper-based scales and questionnaires. On a 0–10 scale, the study participants rated it as “highly recommended” (M=8.03) for fellow nursing students or practicing nurses. Conclusions. Although the “DiagNurse” mobile app was considered a suitable tool for learning clinical patient assessment, the students also proposed some improvements to the app’s design.