Best of both worlds: digital health and nursing together for healthier communities
Declaration of Interests: The authors declare no competing interests.
Abstract
Aim
This manuscript offers a set of practical recommendations to the nursing and digital health communities in order to achieve a common vision of nurses fully engaged with and leading digital health solutions for universal health coverage.
Background
Nurses comprise the largest occupation of health workers in the world and play a central role in efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goals. Nevertheless, though they are essential to delivering health care, nursing voices are too often absent in the design and implementation of new technology and digital health advances. The World Health Organization recognizes digital health as a critical catalyst for advancing universal health coverage and the aims of the Sustainable Development Goals. Therefore, the use of digital health by nurses is globally recommended as a channel of practice to strengthen nursing services and allow practitioners to significantly improve health outcomes.
Sources of Evidence
Websites of the World Health Organization, United Nations, peer-reviewed research search engines, as well as the experiences of both authors.
Discussion
Digital health is transforming the entirety of the healthcare provision system and these systemic changes require engagement, leadership and championing from nurses.
Conclusion and Implications for Nursing Practice and Policy
Both the nursing and digital health communities have much to gain from each other and can be stronger together. The authors offer a set of practical recommendations for both the nursing and digital health communities to implement to optimize mutual efforts towards achieving universal health coverage.
