The essentials of nursing innovation across global health ecosystems: An evolutionary concept analysis

The concept of nursing innovation remains inconsistently defined across the literature. This conceptual ambiguity impedes the advancement of nursing innovation scholarship.

To advance conceptual clarity of nursing innovation within global health ecosystems as a heuristic to support the knowledge base of the nursing discipline.

The Innovation in NurSIng for Global Health ecosystems Transformation (INSIGHT) study applies Rodgers' evolutionary concept analysis. The search was performed in February 2025 across five databases, supplemented by hand-searching of reference lists. Rodger's core components (attributes, antecedents, consequences, surrogate terms, and related concepts) were identified and analyzed using a hybrid deductive-inductive thematic analysis. The synthesized findings were subsequently interpreted through a nursing philosophical lens. A conceptual model was developed and illustrated through an exemplar of nursing innovation.

A total of 10,540 records were screened, with 43 articles included. Four defining attributes were identified: innovation characteristics, innovator capabilities, innovation process, and solution dimensions. Antecedents comprised contextual conditions (unmet needs, opportunity identification, and emerging demands) and structural conditions (innovation education, professional capabilities, leadership support, and organizational systems). Consequences included value generation and delivery, as well as unintended consequences. The analysis yielded a proposed definition of nursing innovation.

As nursing and health systems face unprecedented challenges, a shared understanding of nursing innovation among nursing stakeholders is essential to support the design and implementation of solutions that advance the well-being of individuals, populations, and global health ecosystems. Continued theoretical and empirical inquiry is warranted to further refine this evolving concept and advance nursing innovation scholarship.