TY  - JOUR
AU  - Walzer, Stefan
AU  - Barthel, Carolin
AU  - Pazouki, Ronja
AU  - Marx, Helga
AU  - Ziegler, Sven
AU  - Koenig, Peter
AU  - Kugler, Christiane
AU  - Jobst, Stefan
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/1/15
TI  - Teaching in the Digital Age—Developing a Support Program for Nursing Education Providers: Design-Based Research
JO  - JMIR Form Res
SP  - e66109
VL  - 9
KW  - digital competencies
KW  - nursing education
KW  - support program
KW  - needs assessment
KW  - design-based research
KW  - feasibility study
KW  - nursing education provider
KW  - qualitative research
KW  - nurse
KW  - health care
KW  - focus group
KW  - digital age
KW  - expert consultation
KW  - thematic content analysis
KW  - feasibility test
KW  - satisfaction
KW  - competency-based approach
KW  - workplace barrier
KW  - health care digitalization
KW  - digital technology
AB  - Background: Health care systems and the nursing profession worldwide are being transformed by technology and digitalization. Nurses acquire digital competence through their own experience in daily practice, but also from education and training; nursing education providers thus play an important role. While nursing education providers have some level of digital competence, there is a need for ongoing training and support for them to develop more advanced skills and effectively integrate technology into their teaching. Objective: This study aims to develop a needs-based support program for nursing education providers to foster digital competencies and to test this intervention. Methods: We used a design-based research approach, incorporating iterative development with expert consultation to create and evaluate a support program for nursing education providers. Focus groups were conducted online to assess needs, and thematic content analysis was used to derive key insights. The support program was then refined through expert feedback and subjected to a feasibility and satisfaction test, with participant evaluations analyzed descriptively. Results: Six main categories emerged from the focus groups, highlighting key areas, including the use of digital technology, ongoing support needs, and the current state of digitalization in nursing education. The support program was developed based on these findings, with expert validation leading to adjustments in timing, content prioritization, and platform integration. Preliminary testing showed good overall satisfaction with the support program, although participants suggested improvements in content relevance and digital platform usability. Conclusions: Although the feasibility test showed high satisfaction with the support program, low participation rates and limited perceived knowledge gain were major concerns. The results suggest that while the program was well received, further refinements, including a focus on competency-based approaches and addressing workplace barriers, are needed to increase participation and effectiveness of such interventions. The findings of this research can be used as a basis for the development of similar programs in other educational and health care contexts. 
SN  - 2561-326X
UR  - https://formative.jmir.org/2025/1/e66109
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/66109
DO  - 10.2196/66109
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/66109
ER  -