Knowledge management enablers affecting patient care: The perspective of registered nurses in South West Nigeria

Abstract

Background: The productivity of healthcare institutions is impacted by the nursing workforce and plays a vital role in the provision of effective and efficient patient care. Knowledge management plays a vital role in nursing practice. This study seeks to extend the frontier of knowledge by addressing the paucity of literature on knowledge management in nursing care delivery in Nigeria.

Objectives: The study empirically identified crucial knowledge management enablers from extant literature and investigated their influence on patient care in clinical nursing.

Method: A cross-sectional survey design using a stratified sampling method was employed. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data from 196 registered nurses in a selected teaching hospital in South West Nigeria. A total of 186 valid responses were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM).

Result: The result of this study indicated that there is a direct and significant relationship between information technology (IT) and patient care. Organisational structure and organisational culture did not directly affect patient care. However, together with IT support, the knowledge management enablers were found to significantly affect patient care in clinical nursing.

Conclusion: There is a need for nursing management to develop a flexible organisational structure and knowledge friendly culture including the implementation of functional technical infrastructure, to leverage knowledge management effectiveness in patient care in teaching hospitals in order to facilitate and strengthen service delivery by nurses.