Exploring The Impact of Learning Theories in Health Informatics

Health Informatics uses an interdisciplinary approach in applying data, information, and knowledge in many healthcare settings. It is strongly influenced by the healthcare industry, provider and patient demands, and robust technological advances. Recent advances in healthcare and technology have impacted the safety and quality of patient care. These improvements have

opened many opportunities for the future. The evolution of health informatics has resulted in the crucial need for advanced healthcare professionals to implement these learning approaches of in order to continually adapt to changing environments and the demands of health promotion and education, technology, evidence-based practice, healthcare policy, and regulations.

Keywords: behavioral theories, information processing, cognitive learning theories, adult learning theories, learning styles  

Learning Theories: Vital to Healthcare Settings

The world of healthcare and technology is in a constant state of evolution. A plethora of technological advances has come into healthcare over the last few decades resulting in an expansion in the field of health informatics. Health informatics is the study that allows health professionals to use the data that is created and collected from technological advances to turn it into knowledge. In order to create knowledge from data, health informatics has relied on four major theoretical learning approaches: behavioral theories, cognitive learning theories, adult learning theories, and learning styles. The purpose of this research paper is to explore the importance of behavioral theories, cognitive information processing theories, adult learning theories, and learning styles in health care settings and to identify its contributions and impact to health promotion and education, technology, evidence-based practice, health care policy, and regulations. These approaches have implemented programs that are used from future health professionals to veteran health professionals so that they will understand and know how to apply what they have cultivated, also called evidence-based practices. It is in this way that these professionals may increase the quality and effectiveness of care given so that they can create better outcomes for patients. The evolution of health informatics has resulted in the crucial need for advanced healthcare professionals to implement four major theoretical approaches of learning in order to adapt to changing environments and the demands of health promotion and education, technology, evidence-based practice, healthcare policy and regulations. There have been numerous studies performed regarding the support of learning theories in the growth of health informatics. However, further research needs to be performed pertaining to the future of how these theories will continue to help as the field rapidly grows.

Theoretical Approaches to Learning

Health informatics incorporates four major theoretical approaches to learning which include behavioral theories, cognitive learning theory, adult learning theory, and learning styles. Exploring these four approaches will help the authors set up the paper for how they pertain to health informatics as well as supporting different elements of the field of study.

Behavioral Theories

Behavioral theory is defined as a set of prespecified ideas that come from many disciplines that are used to identify “determinants or mechanism” of behavior (Hagger & Weed, 2019). With behaviorism, learning can be observed through behavioral change with the introduction of a stimuli, response and/or reinforcement. With this being known, many interventions have been implemented from this theory since it would have a greater potential of success in changing the behaviors needed (Tamin & Grant, 2017). Another study examined by the authors is by Fuller et al. in which they examined the behavioral theory in regard to health care workers handwashing compliance (2013). Health care workers in thirty-three different units in thirteen different English and Welsh hospitals were examined in “real-time” noncompliance for four weeks. When a ward coordinator examined a worker not complying to hand washing standards, the worker was immediately asked about the noncompliance and answers were written down. Systematic reviews have suggested that an insufficient use of behaviorism has resulted in limited understanding of handwashing; the results for the Fuller et al. study would support this (2013). The results were linked to two behavioral domains, “Memory, Attention/Decision Making” and “Knowledge” in which health care workers did not comply. Interventions to improve hand hygiene had not taken these domains into account and therefore the researchers suggested for interventions to start targeting both conscious and automatic processes (autopilot) (Fuller et al., 2013).

Another part of health informatics that uses behavioral theory is mHealth and eHealth as they promote the adoption of healthy behaviors through knowledge. Many of these mHealth and eHealth apps or devices use points or different rewards in order to reinforce the behavior that one is trying to change. “The participants used techniques to motivate and support the learning in their interventions, mirroring behaviorism, which emphasizes the interplay of stimuli, response, and reinforcement in the learning process” (Tamin & Grant, 2017). Tamin and Grant also suggested that even though many of these techniques use behavioral theory, some are also blended with other learning theories in order to enhance the learning of participants (2017). We will learn about more of these other theories next.

Cognitive Learning Theory

What is the Cognitive Learning Theory (CLT) and why is it vital to healthcare settings? The Cognitive Learning Theory refers to a learning theory that focuses on perception and the processing of information (McSparron, Vanka, and Smith, 2019). From the CLT, grew the Information processing theory (IPT). This is one of the most influential and popular cognitive learning theories, it considers learning as the transition of information from the environment into knowledge stored in the mind (Wang et al., 2018).

Many times, the brain is compared to a computer because of its processing power to receive, store, and recall information. The IPT seeks to explain how the mind functions and encompasses a range of processes, including gathering, manipulating, storing, retrieving, and classifying information (Gentile, 2018). The brain processes information, specifically memory in three stages. These three stages of an IPT include sensory, working, and long-term memory. Sensory memory derives from stimuli such as visual, auditory, touch, taste, and smell. Working