Technostress among nursing staff in the intensive care units in three hospitals in the southern area of Madrid.
Keywords:
Technostress, Nursing, Information and Communication Technology, Intensive Care Unit
Abstract
Introduction: Intensive Care Units expose nursing staff to psychosocial risks derived from the intensive use of Information and Communication Technologies. Talking about this topic, technostress has been identified as an emerging issue. Objective: To assess the level of technostress experienced by nursing staff in the Intensive Care Units of three hospitals in the southern region of the Community of Madrid. Methodology: A multicentre, observational, descriptive, and cross-sectional study was conducted. The RED-Technostress questionnaire was used to measure anxiety, fatigue, scepticism, inefficacy, and addiction related to the use of Information and Communication Technologies. Results: A total of 20,47% of the surveyed staff exhibited technostress, while 37,79% showed signs of techno-addiction. Differences were observed in the affective dimension based on gender, whereas age influenced both technostress and techno-addiction. Factors such as work experience, shift schedule, contract type, and working hours showed no significant association with technostress. Although prior training did not significantly impact overall technostress levels, it was associated with a reduction in fatigue. Discussion: The study highlights the risk of developing technostress in Intensive Care Units. However, comparisons with other studies are limited due to variations in assessment scales and differences in study populations. Conclusions: The homogeneity of technostress levels across hospitals suggests that it is a common challenge within the healthcare sector, regardless of the specific characteristics of each institution.
References
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25. Llorens S, Salanova M, Ventura M. Guías de intervención: Tecnoestrés. Madrid: Editorial Síntesis; 2011.
26. Cárdenas Velásquez AJ, Bracho Paz DC. El Tecnoestrés: Una consecuencia de la inclusión de las TIC en el trabajo. Cienciamatría. 2020;6(Especial 1):295-314. doi:10.35381/cm.v6i1.308.
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28. Real Decreto 39/1997, de 17 de enero, por el que se aprueba el Reglamento de los Servicios de Prevención. Boletín Oficial del Estado, nº 27 (31 de enero de 1997).
29. Vilar Pont M, Salgado Rodríguez MC, Paradell Blanc N, Pinsach Bosch L. Impacto de la implementación de las nuevas tecnologías para innovar y transformar la atención primaria: la enfermera tecnológica. Aten Primaria Prac. 2021;3(S1):100116. doi:10.1016/j.appr.2021.100116.
30. Lucena JC, Carvalho C, Santos-Costa P, Mónico L, Parreira P. Nurses' Strategies to Prevent and/or Decrease Work-Related Technostress: A Scoping Review. Comput Inform Nurs. 2021;39(12):916-920. doi: 10.1097/CIN.0000000000000771.
31. Salanova M, Llorens S, Cifre E. The dark side of technologies: technostress among users of information and communication technologies. Int J Psychol. 2013;48(3):422-36. doi: 10.1080/00207594.2012.680460.
32. Golz C, Peter KA, Zwakhalen SMG, Hahn S. Technostress Among Health Professionals – A multilevel model and group comparisons between settings and professions. Inform Health Soc Care. 2021;46(2):137-149. doi:10.1080/17538157.2021.1872579
33. Golz C, Peter KA, Müller TJ, Mutschler J, Zwakhalen SMG, Hahn S. Technostress and digital competence among health professionals in swiss psychiatric Hospitals: cross-sectional study. JMIR Ment Health. 2021 Nov 4;8(11):e31408. doi: 10.2196/31408.
34. Bernburg M, Gebhardt JS, Groneberg DA, Mache S. Impact of Digitalization in Dentistry on Technostress, Mental Health, and Job Satisfaction: A Quantitative Study. Healthcare (Basel). 2025 Jan 3;13(1):72. doi: 10.3390/healthcare13010072.
35. Picón C, Toledo S, Navarro V. Tecnoestrés: Identificación y prevalencia en el personal docente de la Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Rev Fac Med UNNE.2016;36(3):41-51. doi: 10.30972/med.3632309.
36. Ragu-Nathan TS, Tarafdar M, Ragu-Nathan BS, Tu Q. The consequences of technostress for end users in organizations: Conceptual development and empirical validation. Information Systems Research. 2008;19(4):417-433. doi:10.1287/isre.1070.0165.
39 Golz C, Eichenberger NL, Ben Souissi S, Bieri JS. Examining the Technostress Dimensions and Job Satisfaction in Nursing - A Cross-Sectional Study. In: Strudwick G, editor. Innovation in Applied Nursing Informatics. IOS Press; 2024. p. 311-315. doi:10.3233/SHTI240159.
40 Keshavarz H, Saeidnia HR, Wang T. Navigating technostress: a deep dive into health practitioners' technological challenges in hospital settings. BMC Health Serv Res. 2025;25(18). doi:10.1186/s12913-024-12196-1.
41 Huanacuni Llanque R. Tecnoestrés y rendimiento académico en estudiantes de Enfermería en tiempos de COVID-19. Investig Innov. 2021 Dec 1;9(2):35–48. Available from: http://www.revistas.unjbg.edu.pe/index.php/iirce/article/view/1218
42.Gómez-Acebo I, González-María E, Fernández-Lao C, García-Alonso C, Pérez-Pérez E. Nuevas tecnologías y nuevos retos para el profesional de enfermería. Enferm Clin. 2016;26(1):19- 25.
2. Wosny M, Strasser LM, Hastings J. Experience of Health Care Professionals Using Digital Tools in the Hospital: Qualitative Systematic Review. JMIR Hum Factors. 2023;10:e50357,doi: 10.2196/50357.
3. Kroth PJ, Morioka-Douglas N, Veres S, Babbott S, Poplau S, Qeadan F, et al. Association of Electronic Health Record Design and Use Factors With Clinician Stress and Burnout. JAMA Netw Open. 2019;2(8):e199609. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.9609.
4. Brocal F. Incertidumbres y retos ante los riesgos laborales nuevos y emergentes.Arch Prev RiesgosLabor.2016;19(1):6-9. doi: 10.12961/aprl.2016.19.01.1.
5. Kräft J, Wirth T, Harth V, Mache S. Digital stress perception among German hospital nurses and associations with health-oriented leadership, emotional exhaustion and work-privacy conflict: a cross-sectional study. BMC Nurs. 2024;23(1):213. doi:10.1186/s12912-024-01825-z.
6. Ninaus K, Diehl S, Terlutter R, Chan K, Huang A. Benefits and stressors - Perceived effects of ICT use on employee health and work stress: An exploratory study from Austria and Hong Kong. Int J Qual Stud Health Wellbeing.2015;10:28838. doi:10.3402/qhw.v10.28838.
7. Cuervo Carabel T, Orviz Martínez N, Arce García S, Fernández Suárez I.Tecnoestrés en la Sociedad de la Tecnología y la Comunicación: revisión bibliográfica a partir de la Web of Science. Arch Prev Riesgos Laborales.2018 ;21(1). doi : 10.12961/aprl.2018.21.01.4.
8. Resolución de 14 de abril de 2023, de la Secretaría General de Salud Digital, Información e Innovación del Sistema Nacional de Salud. Boletín Oficial del Estado, nº 97. 2023.
9. Brod C. Technostress: The human cost of the computer revolution. Reading, Mass: Addison- Wesley; 1984.
10. Bail C, Harth V, Mache S. Digitalization in Urology—A Multimethod Study of the Relationships between Physicians’ Technostress, Burnout, Work Engagement and Job Satisfaction. Healthc (Basel). 2023;11(16):2255. doi: 10.3390/healthcare11162255.Díaz Sarmiento C, López Lambraño M, Roncallo Lafont L. Entendiendo las generaciones: una revisión del concepto, clasificación y características distintivas de los Baby Boomers, X y Millennials. Clío América. 2017;11(22):188-204 . doi:10.21676/23897848.2440
11. Kaihlanen AM, Gluschkoff K, Laukka E, Heponiemi T. The information system stress, informatics competence and well-being of newly graduated and experienced nurses: a cross- sectional study. BMC Health Serv Res. 2021;21(1):1096. doi: 10.1186/s12913-021-07132-6.
12. Califf CB. Stressing affordances: Towards an appraisal theory of technostress through a case study of hospital nurses' use of electronic medical record systems. Information Organization. 2022;32(4):100431. doi: 10.1016/j.infoandorg.2022.100431.
13. Bahr TJ, Ginsburg S, Wright JG, Shachak A. Technostress as a source of physician burnout: An exploration of the associations between technology usage and physician burnout. Int J Med Inform. 2023;177:105073. doi: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2023.105147.
14. Wu DTY, Xu C, Kim A, Bindhu S, Mah KE, Eckman MH. A scoping review of health information technology in clinician burnout. Appl Clin Inform. 2021;12(3):597-620. doi: 10.1055/s-0041- 1731399.
15. Vehko T, Hyppönen H, Puttonen S, Kujala S, Ketola E, Tuukkanen J, et al. Experienced time pressure and stress: electronic health records usability and information technology competence play a role. BMC Med Inform Decis Mak. 2019;19(1):160. doi:10.1186/s12911-019-0891-z.
16. Milutinović D, Golubović B, Brkić N, Prokeš B. Professional Stress and Health among Critical Care Nurses in Serbia. Arh Hyg Rada Toksikol. 2012;63(2): 171-180. doi: 10.2478/10004-1254- 63- 2012-2140.
17. Macías García MC. El modelo decente de seguridad y salud laboral. Estrés y tecnoestrés derivados de los riesgos psicosociales como nueva forma de siniestralidad laboral. Rev Int Comp Relac Labor Derecho Empl. 2019.
18. Romero de San Pío E, González Sánchez S, Romero San Pío MJ. Estrés y ansiedad en el entorno de cuidados intensivos. 2014;8(3). doi: 10.4321/S1988-348X2014000300005.
19. Lu SF, Kuo YW, Hung SH, Wu CH, Wang CY, Chou SS, et al. Coping strategies of intensive care units nurses in alarm management: a qualitative research study. BMC Nurs. 2024 ;23(1):713. doi: 10.1186/s12912-024-02374-1Gündüz Hoşgör D, Hoşgör HK. Effects of technostress and the role of their descriptive characteristics of intensive care nurses on their job performance. Research Square. 2024. doi: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4351377/v1.
20. Salanova M, Llorens S, Cifre E, Equipo de Investigación WoNT-Prevenció Psicosocial, Nogareda C. NTP 730: Tecnoestrés: concepto, medida e intervención. Madrid: Instituto Nacional de Seguridad y Salud en el Trabajo; 2004.
21. de Jong A, Donelle L, Kerr M. Nurses' Use of Personal Smartphone Technology in the Workplace: Scoping Review. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth.2020;8(11):e18774. doi: 10.2196/18774.
22. Heinssen RK Jr, Glass CR, Knight LA. Assessing computer anxiety: Development and validation of the Computer Anxiety Rating Scale. Comput Hum Behav. 1987;3(1):49-59. doi: 10.1016/0747-5632(87)90010-0.
23. Gordon M, Killey M, Shevlin M, McIlroy D, Tierney K. The factor structure of the Computer Anxiety Rating Scale and the Computer Thoughts Survey. Comput Hum Behav. 2003;19(3):291-
8. doi: 10.1016/S0747-5632(02)00061-4.
24. Anthony LM, Clarke MC, Anderson SJ. Technophobia and personality subtypes
in a sample of South African university students. Comput Hum Behav. 2000;16(1):31-44. doi: 10.1016/S0747-5632(99)00050-3.
25. Llorens S, Salanova M, Ventura M. Guías de intervención: Tecnoestrés. Madrid: Editorial Síntesis; 2011.
26. Cárdenas Velásquez AJ, Bracho Paz DC. El Tecnoestrés: Una consecuencia de la inclusión de las TIC en el trabajo. Cienciamatría. 2020;6(Especial 1):295-314. doi:10.35381/cm.v6i1.308.
27. Ley 31/1995, de 8 de noviembre, de Prevención de Riesgos Laborales. Boletín Oficial del Estado, nº 269 (10 de noviembre de 1995).
28. Real Decreto 39/1997, de 17 de enero, por el que se aprueba el Reglamento de los Servicios de Prevención. Boletín Oficial del Estado, nº 27 (31 de enero de 1997).
29. Vilar Pont M, Salgado Rodríguez MC, Paradell Blanc N, Pinsach Bosch L. Impacto de la implementación de las nuevas tecnologías para innovar y transformar la atención primaria: la enfermera tecnológica. Aten Primaria Prac. 2021;3(S1):100116. doi:10.1016/j.appr.2021.100116.
30. Lucena JC, Carvalho C, Santos-Costa P, Mónico L, Parreira P. Nurses' Strategies to Prevent and/or Decrease Work-Related Technostress: A Scoping Review. Comput Inform Nurs. 2021;39(12):916-920. doi: 10.1097/CIN.0000000000000771.
31. Salanova M, Llorens S, Cifre E. The dark side of technologies: technostress among users of information and communication technologies. Int J Psychol. 2013;48(3):422-36. doi: 10.1080/00207594.2012.680460.
32. Golz C, Peter KA, Zwakhalen SMG, Hahn S. Technostress Among Health Professionals – A multilevel model and group comparisons between settings and professions. Inform Health Soc Care. 2021;46(2):137-149. doi:10.1080/17538157.2021.1872579
33. Golz C, Peter KA, Müller TJ, Mutschler J, Zwakhalen SMG, Hahn S. Technostress and digital competence among health professionals in swiss psychiatric Hospitals: cross-sectional study. JMIR Ment Health. 2021 Nov 4;8(11):e31408. doi: 10.2196/31408.
34. Bernburg M, Gebhardt JS, Groneberg DA, Mache S. Impact of Digitalization in Dentistry on Technostress, Mental Health, and Job Satisfaction: A Quantitative Study. Healthcare (Basel). 2025 Jan 3;13(1):72. doi: 10.3390/healthcare13010072.
35. Picón C, Toledo S, Navarro V. Tecnoestrés: Identificación y prevalencia en el personal docente de la Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Rev Fac Med UNNE.2016;36(3):41-51. doi: 10.30972/med.3632309.
36. Ragu-Nathan TS, Tarafdar M, Ragu-Nathan BS, Tu Q. The consequences of technostress for end users in organizations: Conceptual development and empirical validation. Information Systems Research. 2008;19(4):417-433. doi:10.1287/isre.1070.0165.
39 Golz C, Eichenberger NL, Ben Souissi S, Bieri JS. Examining the Technostress Dimensions and Job Satisfaction in Nursing - A Cross-Sectional Study. In: Strudwick G, editor. Innovation in Applied Nursing Informatics. IOS Press; 2024. p. 311-315. doi:10.3233/SHTI240159.
40 Keshavarz H, Saeidnia HR, Wang T. Navigating technostress: a deep dive into health practitioners' technological challenges in hospital settings. BMC Health Serv Res. 2025;25(18). doi:10.1186/s12913-024-12196-1.
41 Huanacuni Llanque R. Tecnoestrés y rendimiento académico en estudiantes de Enfermería en tiempos de COVID-19. Investig Innov. 2021 Dec 1;9(2):35–48. Available from: http://www.revistas.unjbg.edu.pe/index.php/iirce/article/view/1218
42.Gómez-Acebo I, González-María E, Fernández-Lao C, García-Alonso C, Pérez-Pérez E. Nuevas tecnologías y nuevos retos para el profesional de enfermería. Enferm Clin. 2016;26(1):19- 25.
Published
2025-09-28
Section
Original Articles
