Nurse Leaders Enabling Nurses to Adopt Digital Health: Results of an Integrative Literature Review

Abstract

Digital health is expanding, driven by international and national strategic imperatives for improving health systems. Nurses are key stakeholders in healthcare and therefore nursing leadership plays a key role in supporting the nursing workforce to develop the skills to fully engage with digital health. This review aims to synthesise the research exploring how nurse leaders can develop digital capability in the nursing workforce using the research question: “How do nursing leaders enable hospital nurses to adopt and use digital health technology?” The literature search utilised three databases: CINAHL, MEDLINE and EMBASE, plus Google Scholar and hand searching using keywords based on four concepts: nurses, leadership, digital health and in a hospital setting. Articles needed to be in English and published from 2015 to 2022. The search netted 909 articles, which after removal of duplicates and screening, including screening for quality, resulted in eight studies. For the findings three main themes were identified: “Connecting the digital and clinical worlds”, “Facilitating digital practice development” and “Empowering nurses in the digital health world”. Nurse leaders need to create a link between clinical and digital worlds to facilitate integration of digital tools into nursing practice and this requires them to have digital competence and credibility. To facilitate digital practice, they need to drive education and practice development; have visibility in clinical practice to advocate for nurses and to hear and relay their concerns, which will facilitate solutions. Providing adequate resources is also important. Dedicated digital nurse champions can support nurse leaders in facilitating the adoption and use of digital health. In conclusion, nurse leaders can support hospital nurses to adopt and use digital health technology and this may be accomplished by using aspects of transformational leadership, though confirming this is an area for further research. TE REO MĀORI TRANSLATION Ka kawea ake e ngā kaiārahi tapuhi te hauora matihiko: Ngā hua o tētahi arotake pukapuka tuhinga tōpū Ngā Ariā Matua Kei te whakawhānui haere te hauora matihiko, he mea pana whakamua e ngā ākinga ā-ao, ā-motu hoki hei whakapiki i ngā pūnaha hauora. He kaipupuru pānga taketake ngā tapuhi i roto i te tiakinga hauora nā reira, ka riro mā te kaiārahi tapuhi e kawe ngā mahi tautoko i te rāngai tapuhi hei whakawhanake i ngā pūkenga e taea ai te mahi nui i roto i te ao hauora matihiko. Tā tēnei arotake he whai kia tuia tahitia ngā rangahau e mōhiotia ai me pēhea ngā kaihautū tapuhi e whakapakari ai i ngā āheinga matihiko o te kāhui kaimahi tapuhi, mā te whakamahi i te pātai rangahau nei: “He pēhea te whakamanawa a ngā kaihautū tapuhi i ngā tapuhi hōhipera kia hāpai, kia whakamahi hoki i ngā hangarau hauora matihiko?” I whakamahi te rapunga tuhinga i ētahi pātengi raraunga e toru: arā, CINAHL, MEDLINE me EMBASE, waihoki a Google Scholar, me ētahi rapunga ā-ringa nā te whakamahi kupu matua i runga i ētahi ariā e whā: ngā tapuhi, hautūtanga, hauora matihiko, me te ao hōhipera. Me tuhinga reo Ingarihi, ā, me tuhinga hoki i puta mai i 2015 ki 2022. E 909 ngā tuhinga i puea ake, ā, i muri i te tangohanga o ngā mea taurite me ētahi atu tātaritanga, tae atu ki te tātaritanga kounga, e waru i kitea. I kitea ētahi tāhuhu matua e toru mō ngā kitenga; te tūhono i te ao matihiko me te ao tiaki tūroro; te whakangāwari i ngā whanaketanga mahi matihiko; me te whakamanawa i ngā tapuhi i te ao matihiko hauora. Me tahuri ngā kaihautū tapuhi ki te hanga hononga i waenga i te ao tiaki tūroro me te ao matihiko, hei whakangāwari i te tuituinga o ngā taputapu matihiko ki ngā mahi tapuhi, engari me mātua matatau te kaihautū tapuhi, me tino mōhio pono hoki ki ōna āhuatanga. Hei whakangāwari i ngā mahi matihiko, me kōkiri rātou i te whanaketanga mātauranga, tikanga mahi hoki; me mātua tū hei kanohi i roto i ngā mahi tiaki tūroro hei māngai mō ngā tapuhi; me rongo, me puaki hoki e rātou ō rātou āwangawanga hei whakangāwari rongoā. He mea hira hoki te hora i ngā rauemi tōtika. Ka taea e ngā mātātoa tapuhi matihiko te tautoko i ngā kaiārahi tapuhi ki te whakangāwari i te kawenga me te whakamahinga i te hauora matihiko. Hei kupu whakamutunga, ka taea e ngā kaihautū tapuhi te tautoko i ngā tapuhi hōhipera te hāpai me te whakamahi i ngā hangarau hauora matihiko, mā te whakamahi āhuatanga mai i te hautūtanga whakaumu tikanga, engari me haere ētahi atu rangahau mō tēnei kaupapa. Ngā kupu matua: matatau; hangarau hauora matihiko; ngā tapuhi hōhipera; hautūtanga