How Do Information and Communication Technologies Influence Nursing Care?

Stud Health Technol Inform. 2016:225:934-5.

Abstract

Despite the well-known advantages of information and communication technologies (ICTs), their overall impact on nursing care has not been synthesized. The objective of this overview of systematic reviews is to summarize the best evidence regarding the effects of ICTs on nursing care. We considered quantitative, qualitative and mixed-method reviews published since January 1995. Two reviewers independently screened the title and abstract of 5515 papers to assess their eligibility. From these, 72 full-text papers were evaluated and 28 publications met the inclusion criteria. Three reviewers extracted and compared their data. Preliminary results show that the following dimensions of nursing care are the most frequently reported: assessment, care planning and evaluation, documentation time, quality of care and patient safety. This overview provides a starting point from which to compare and contrast findings of separate reviews regarding the positive, neutral and negative effects of ICTs on nursing care.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Communication
  • Humans
  • Information Technology*
  • Nursing / standards*