Digital nursing practice theory: A scoping review and thematic analysis

AimsThis scoping review aims to identify existing theories associated with digital nursing practice toadd a lens on the future use of digital technologies by nurses.DesignA review of theories related to digital technology in nursing practice was conducted followingthe framework described by Arksey and O’Malley. All published literature up until 12th May2022 was included.Data sourcesSeven databases were utilised including Medline, Scopus, CINAHL, ACM Digital Library, IEEEXplore, BNI and Web of Science. A Google Scholar search was also performed.Review methodsThe search terms included (nurs* AND (digital OR technol* OR e-health or ehealth or digitalhealth or telemedicine or telehealth) AND theory).ResultsThe database searches yielded 282 citations. After screening, 9 papers were included in thereview. These described 8 distinct nursing theories.ConclusionThe focuses of the theories included the role of technology in society and nursing. Howtechnology should be developed to support nursing practice. Health consumers’ use of nursinginformatics. The use of technology as an expression of caring and the preservation ofhumanness. The relationship between human persons and non-human actants and the creationof nursing technologies as caring in addition to existing technologies.Three themes were identified including the role of technology as an agent within the patientenvironment; nurse interactions with technology to achieve ‘knowing’ of patients and thenecessity of technological competence among nurses. Then, using Actor Network Theory (ANT)a zoom-out lens to map the concepts was propose