Analyze informatics frameworks and models that are applicable to healthcare organizations and nursing practice. What are the key principles and best practices that you can leverage from these frameworks to support your practice?
Informatics frameworks and models that are applicable to healthcare organizations and nursing practice
Sample Answer
Informatics frameworks provide the theoretical backbone for how healthcare organizations manage the vast quantities of data generated every second. For nursing practice, these models bridge the gap between "clicking buttons" in an Electronic Health Record (EHR) and providing high-quality, evidence-based care.
1. Primary Informatics Frameworks and Models
The DIKW Hierarchy (Data, Information, Knowledge, Wisdom)
Perhaps the most fundamental framework, the DIKW model (introduced in nursing by Graves and Corcoran), describes a linear progression of human thought and computer processing.
Data: Raw, uninterpreted facts (e.g., a blood pressure reading of 90/60).
Information: Data plus context (e.g., recognizing 90/60 is a "low" reading for a specific adult).
Knowledge: Synthesizing information to identify patterns (e.g., knowing that low blood pressure combined with a high heart rate may indicate sepsis).
Wisdom: The appropriate use of knowledge to manage and solve human problems (e.g., the nurse deciding to initiate a fluid bolus and notify the physician immediately).6
Turley’s Model of Nursing Informatics (1996)
Turley’s model suggests that nursing informatics is the intersection of three traditional sciences—Computer Science, Information Science, and Nursing Science—nested within Cognitive Science.7
Key Principle: Cognitive science is the "glue." It emphasizes that informatics isn't just about the computer; it’s about how the human brain processes information to make clinical decisions.
Staggers and Thompson’s Framework (2002)
This model focuses on the human-computer interaction (HCI). It highlights that the success of informatics depends on the relationship between the nurse (the user), the patient, and the technology.
Key Principle: Systems must be designed around the workflow of the nurse, not the other way around. If a system is too complex, it increases cognitive load and leads to errors.
2. Key Principles to Leverage
By applying these frameworks, you can leverage specific principles to enhance your clinical practice:
| Principle | Leveraging it in Practice |
|---|---|
| Data Integrity | Ensuring "Data" is accurate at the point of entry so that the "Wisdom" derived from it later (by AI or other clinicians) is valid. |
| Cognitive Load Management | Using Clinical Decision Support (CDS) tools (like pop-up alerts) sparingly to prevent "alert fatigue," ensuring only critical information breaks through. |
| Standardized Terminology | Using universal languages (like SNOMED-CT or LOINC) so that data shared between different hospitals remains meaningful and "interoperable." |
| User-Centric Design | Advocating for systems that mirror the nursing process (Assessment $\rightarrow$ Diagnosis $\rightarrow$ Planning $\rightarrow$ Implementation $\rightarrow$ Evaluation). |