The impact of digital health transformation driven by COVID-19 on nursing practice – A systematic literature review (Preprint)

BACKGROUND The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the uptake of digital health innovations due to the availability of various technologies and the urgent healthcare need for treatment and prevention. While numerous studies investigated digital health adoption and the associated challenges and strategies during the pandemic, there is a lack of evidence on the impact on the nursing workforce. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to identify the impact of digital health transformation driven by COVID-19 on nurses. METHODS Online Covidence® software was used to follow the PRISMA protocol. Relevant scientific health and computing databases were searched for papers published between January 2020 to November 2021. Using the 8-dimensional sociotechnical approach for digital health in healthcare systems, the papers were analysed to identify gaps in applying digital health in nursing practice. RESULTS 21 papers were selected for content analysis. The analysis identified a paucity of research that quantifies the impact of the digital health transformation on nurses during the pandemic. Most of the initiatives were teleconsultation, followed by tele-ICU and only one study explored EMR systems. Among the sociotechnical elements, the human-related factor was the most explored and the system measurement was the least studied item. CONCLUSIONS The review identified a significant gap in research on how implementing digital health solutions has impacted nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. This gap needs to be addressed by further research to provide strategies for empowering the nursing workforce to be actively involved in digital health design, development, implementation, use and evaluation.