Digital health technology: factors affecting implementation in nursing homes.

Area of Science:

• Digital Health Technology
• Nursing Home Care
• Health Informatics

Background:

• Digital health technology (DHT) is transforming healthcare delivery, offering potential benefits in nursing homes such as improved communication and risk identification.
• However, the implementation of DHT in nursing homes has been inconsistent, necessitating further investigation into enabling factors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify factors enabling nurses to implement DHT in nursing homes.
• To co-design a nurse-led, stepped process for effective DHT innovation implementation in these settings.

Main Methods:

• Appreciative inquiry methodology involving 20 interviews with nursing home staff, residents, and relatives.
• Thematic analysis of interview data to identify key themes related to DHT understanding, experiences, and benefits.
• Two co-creation workshops with nurses to develop a practical, evidence-based DHT implementation process.

Main Results:

• Three emergent themes: improving communication, engaging with DHT while retaining humanised care, and data security considerations during DHT introduction.
• Development of the LAUNCH process model, a nurse-led, stepped approach for DHT implementation in nursing homes.

Conclusions:

• The LAUNCH study identified critical factors for introducing and sustaining DHT innovations in nursing homes.
• A co-created three-step process supports effective DHT implementation, potentially freeing up staff time, enhancing care quality, and improving staff recruitment and retention.