Wearable Devices and Nurses' Health: Protocol for an Integrative Review

Area of Science:

• Nursing Science
• Health Informatics
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Nurses are crucial to global health but face high workloads and stress, negatively impacting their well-being.
• Existing research on wearable devices for patient outcomes is extensive, but their application to nurses' health is under-synthesized.
• This review addresses the gap in understanding wearable technology's role in supporting nurse health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize available data on the utility of wearable devices for evaluating and improving nurses' health.
• To answer how wearable devices are utilized to assess health outcomes among nurses.

Main Methods:

• An integrative review methodology was employed.
• Searches were conducted across six major databases (PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, IEEE Explore, AS&T) from inception to July 2022.
• Initial screening of 8603 titles and abstracts identified 277 articles for full-text review.

Main Results:

• Search strategies were developed and data extraction initiated across six databases.
• After duplicate removal, 8603 studies underwent title and abstract screening.
• 277 full-text articles are currently under review for eligibility.

Conclusions:

• This review will consolidate current knowledge on wearable device applications for nurses' health.
• Findings will inform nurses, healthcare stakeholders, and researchers about the potential of wearable technology.
• The synthesized data will guide future research directions in this critical area.