Technostresserleben in der stationären medizinischen Versorgung in deutschen und schweizerischen Kliniken: aktueller Forschungsstand

The aim of this review article is to present the current state of research on the prevalence and severity of technostress experience in inpatient medical care in German and Swiss hospitals. This is an emerging risk among healthcare personnel in hospitals in connection with the increasing use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in healthcare.

A systematic literature search was carried out using key terms and predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria identified 49 articles, of which 9 studies were included.

The theoretical basis of the studies analyzed in this article is predominantly the technostress concept of Ragu-Nathan et al. (2008) with the subcategories techno-overload, techno-complexity, techno-insecurity, techno-uncertainty and techno-invasion. Almost all studies are cross-sectional in nature that focused on the extent of technostress among physicians, less frequently among nurses and other healthcare professions as well as on the analysis of the triggering and mitigating factors of technostress and effects on organizational and health-related outcomes (including productivity, job satisfaction, burnout). The current study situation indicates a moderate level of technostress, with the highest levels recorded for the subcategories techno-overload and techno-uncertainty.

Physicians and nurses show the highest levels of technostress, followed by medical technical, medical therapeutic and other professions (e.g., social workers, psychologists, midwives); however, there is a lack of empirical studies on nonmedical healthcare professions as well as interventional studies that particularly evaluate coping strategies in dealing with work-related technostress and make recommendations for action for healthcare organizations based on this.