1. What is a database and what are its advantages for nursing informatics? A database is a collection of data that is organized and stored in a way that allows easy access, retrieval, manipulation, and analysis. Some of the advantages of using databases for nursing informatics are: - They can store large amounts of data from various sources, such as electronic health records, clinical decision support systems, patient monitoring devices, etc. - They can facilitate data sharing and communication among different health care providers, departments, and organizations. - They can support evidence-based practice and quality improvement by enabling data analysis, reporting, and visualization. - They can enhance patient safety and care outcomes by reducing errors, duplication, and inconsistency of data. 2. What are the main components of a database system and what are their functions? A database system consists of three main components: data, database management system (DBMS), and application programs. Their functions are: - Data: The raw facts and figures that are stored in the database, such as patient demographics, vital signs, diagnoses, medications, etc. - DBMS: The software that manages the data in the database, such as creating, updating, deleting, querying, and securing the data. - Application programs: The software that interacts with the DBMS and the data to perform specific tasks, such as entering, retrieving, processing, and displaying the data. 3. What are the different types of databases and what are their characteristics? There are different types of databases based on how they organize and store the data. Some of the common types are: - Relational databases: They store the data in tables (or relations), which consist of rows (or tuples) and columns (or attributes). Each row represents an entity (such as a patient) and each column represents an attribute (such as name or age). The tables are linked by common attributes (or keys) to form relationships among the entities. - Hierarchical databases: They store the data in a tree-like structure, where each node represents an entity or a group of entities. The nodes are connected by parent-child relationships, where each node has one parent node (except the root node) and zero or more child nodes. The data can be