Barriers to Integrating Information Technology Content in Doctor of Nursing Practice Curricula

To date, there is no benchmark data available on the measurement of program outcomes in doctor of nursing practice (DNP) programs. The purpose of this study was to identify barriers to integration of IT content in the curriculum in DNP programs, perceived IT competencies taught, and DNP faculty perception of competencies. The study location was DNP programs in the United States, and focus was on doctorate-prepared faculty with a DNP or PhD. A descriptive design using an Internet-based survey was done with 113 DNP programs administrators and faculty across the United States. Limitation of the study was that few DNP administrators forwarded the study to faculty, limiting the sample size. For the purpose of this study, the results were limited to responses from DNP administrators, and some comparative data of the faculty were used. Barriers measured included lack of qualified faculty, faculty's limited knowledge or skills in IT, lack of interest, age, lack of time to learn IT, lack of time to use IT, too many work demands, lack of administrative vision, unclear expectations of faculty, lack of technical support to faculty, or lack of resources. Leading barriers to IT implementation were lack of time of faculty, too many other work demands of faculty, lack of resources dedicated to IT, and lack of qualified faculty to teach IT. Further research is necessary on doctorate-prepared faculty and on interventions to overcome these barriers is needed.