Digital nursing practice theory: A scoping review and thematic analysis

Reassembling nursing in the digital age: An actor-network theory perspective

This article explores the application of actor-network theory (ANT) to the nursing profession, proposing a novel perspective in understanding nursing in the context of modern digital healthcare. Traditional grand nursing theories, while foundational, often fail to encapsulate the dynamic and complex nature of nursing, particularly in an era of rapid technological advancements and shifting societal dynamics. ANT, with its emphasis on the relationships between human and nonhuman actors, offers a framework to understand nursing beyond traditional paradigms. This article makes two key arguments: first, that nursing can be viewed as a highly organised social assemblage, where both human (nurses, patients and policymakers) and nonhuman actors (technologies, medical equipment, institutional policies) play a crucial role, and second, that ANT can be used to enhance existing nursing theory to better understand the role of technology in nursing practice. The article considers how ANT can provide a more holistic and adaptable model for describing the nursing profession, particularly in an era where technology plays an integral role in healthcare delivery. It discusses the implications of viewing nursing through ANT, highlighting the need for nursing education and practice to adapt to the interconnected and technologically advanced nature of modern healthcare. The article also acknowledges the limitations of ANT, particularly its potential oversimplification of the complex ethical dimensions inherent in nursing and its focus on observable phenomena.

Exploring Nurse Use of Digital Nursing Technology

Technological developments and nursing shortages have become global trends. To solve the problem of shortage of healthcare professionals, technology may be used as a backup. Nurses constitute the largest working group in the healthcare system. Therefore, nurses are very important to the success of implementing digitization in hospitals. This cross-sectional study used the characteristics and adoption roles of innovation diffusion theory to understand technology use within the organization. Data were collected through structured questionnaires and open-ended questions from March 21 to May 31, 2022, in two hospitals in Taiwan. In total, 159 nurses agreed to participate in the study. The results of this study revealed that observability, simplicity, advantage, trialability, and compatibility positively improved the acceptance of digital nursing technology. In the distribution of users' innovative roles, early adopters had a significant impact on innovation characteristics and technology acceptance. Nurses in acute and critical care units perceived a greater comparative advantage and trial availability of digital nursing technology use than did those in general wards and outpatient clinics. In addition, based on user opinions and suggestions, the development of smart healthcare and the use of digital technology are expected to improve the quality of nursing care.

Measuring the relationship between reciprocity behaviour and technology readiness of nursing staff working in residential care and community nursing: A cross-sectional study

AIM

The aim of this study is to measure how collaborative factors are associated with the technology readiness of nursing staff working in residential care and community nursing. The Reciprocity Instrument and Technology Readiness Index 2.0 were applied to measure this association.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional survey was conducted between October 2020 and January 2021.

METHODS

The Technology Readiness Index 2.0 was translated into Dutch, administered together with the Reciprocity Instrument and linguistically validated. And 1660 Registered Nurses and Nursing Assistants received an invitation to the online survey. Descriptive statistics and regression analyses were used to analyse the data.

RESULTS

A total of 475 nursing staff responded, a response rate of 28.6%. The following factors have a statistically significant association with technology readiness: age, education level, years of working experience, type of organization, reciprocity behaviour and conditions of reciprocity behaviour: digital communication usage to reach one another, multilayeredness and future perspective.

CONCLUSION

This study shows that reciprocity behaviour is positively associated with technology readiness. The influencing factor reciprocity remains intact after the correction of the other factors that were measured. This confirms the relevance of collaborative factors that influence the technology adoption process of nursing staff working in residential care and community nursing.

IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION AND/OR PATIENT CARE

This study offers insights into how collaboration based on reciprocity behaviour positively impacts the technology readiness of nursing staff engaged in residential care and community nursing and could be used in the education of nursing staff and healthcare teams.

IMPACT

Being aware of the impact that collaborative factors have on the adoption process of ICT among nursing staff could be used to support the desired preparatory activities as part of ICT implementation for healthcare managers, innovators, and nursing work groups charged with implementing technology in the healthcare process.

REPORTING METHOD

The study has adhered to STROBE guidelines.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

No Patient or Public Contribution.

Online spaces and the control of communicable diseases: implications for nursing practice

The digital revolution has significantly altered healthcare, including communicable disease control, with online spaces emerging as vital tools in preventing, identifying and controlling the spread of diseases. However, healthcare professionals, including nurses, need to find a balance between harnessing the benefits of mass communication and mitigating the potentially harmful effects of online misinformation. This article explores the benefits and challenges of using online spaces such as social media platforms in the control of communicable diseases and discusses the potential use of telehealth in reducing the risk of healthcare-associated infection and antimicrobial resistance. The author also describes a framework that nurses can use to explore potential roles and practice in the context of communicable disease control in online spaces.