Abstract:
The objective of the study was to determine the effect of techno stress among health workers a case of Mount Meru Regional Referral Hospital in Arusha with the objective of exploring the causes, symptoms and effect of techno stress.
The study used non probability sampling technique and convenience sampling technique and the method of data collection was the survey method whereby a quantitative approach was used for data analysis. The major research instrument used for the research was the Questionnaire and data was analysed by using SPSS following the research questions and the analysed data was presented in tables with frequencies and percentages.
The factors that were strongly agreed by many respondents as a cause of techno stress at MRRH staff as shown in table 3 above, include poor internet connectivity 22(73 %) and unreliable power supply 19(63%), lack of qualified IT/ICT specialists for troubleshooting and technical support 15(50%), technical problems 14(47%), lack of knowledge about new technology and computers among MRRH staff 12( 40%), negative attitude towards computer use among MRRH staff 10( 33%). Some respondents agreed that lack of policies to guide IT application 19(63%), lack of enough involvement in the decision making process related to technology 18(60%), insufficient training 15(50%), insufficient equipment 11(37%) and outdated equipment 10(33%) are the major factors causing techno stress among Mount Meru Regional Referral Hospital.
From the study findings and the reviewed literature it can be recommended that there are various factors that are causing techno stress among MRRH staff, some of which are considered to be major factors and some not. These factors can be grouped into three categories including human resource factors concerned with the capacity of the qualified IT staff, management factors concerned with all administrative issues including financial resources, decision making, rewards and training and lastly the factors related to technology itself including complexity of IT terminologies, pace of technological change and technical support.
