Hospital Nurses' Self-Reported Confidence in Their Telehealth Competencies

Background: The diffusion of telehealth into hospital care is still low, partially because of a lack of telehealth competence among nurses. In an earlier study, we reported on the knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) nurses require for the use of telehealth. The current study describes hospital nurses' confidence in possessing these telehealth KSAs. Method: In a cross-sectional study, we invited 3,543 nurses from three hospitals in the Netherlands to rate their self-confidence in 31 telehealth KSAs on a 5-point Likert scale, using an online questionnaire. Results: A total of 1,017 nurses responded to the survey. Nine KSAs were scored with a median value of 4.0, 19 KSAs with a median value of 3.0, and three KSAs with a median value of 2.0. Conclusion: Given that hospital nurses have self-confidence in only nine of the 31 essential telehealth KSAs, continuing education in additional KSAs is recommended to support nurses in gaining confidence in using telehealth.