Healthcare students' use of an e-textbook open educational resource on vital sign measurement: a qualitative study

Students desire free textbooks that incorporate multimedia and interactive experiences. Although there is an increased production of e-textbooks, these resources tend to replicate hard copy books and do not take advantage of the functions that technology offers. There is also a shift to creating e-textbooks that are considered open educational resources. A team of nursing educators and a nursing student created an interactive open educational resource e-textbook in vital sign measurement that was implemented within the curriculum of post-secondary health-related programmes. The goal of this paper is to report the study findings which sought to explore healthcare students' experiences of using this open educational resource. Three discipline-specific focus groups were conducted with a convenience sample of 29 students. Using a qualitative thematic analysis, six interconnected themes describing students' use of this resource were identified: (a) This Generation's Learner, (b) Vital Signs Open Educational Resource influence, (c) Accessibility, (d) Convenience, (e) Design, and (f) Visual and Other Types of Learning Styles. Participants were positive about using the open educational resource to learn vital sign skills. Our study findings provide a foundation for e-textbook design standards that support student learning.