Telenursing contributions in Primary Health Care in the COVID-19 pandemic context: an integrative review.
Patrícia Amidianski, Evangelia Kotzias Atherino Dos Santos, Alacoque Lorenzini Erdmann and 3 others
PMID 39607199WHAT IT FOUND
Remote nursing contacts in primary care were reported to continue monitoring, education and access during the pandemic, but physical exams, technology access and training were problems.
Key findings
01Selected studies described telenursing in primary care as consultation, interconsultation, monitoring and health education.
02Reported benefits included continuity of care, stronger health guidelines, increased vaccination rates, accessibility and reduced time and travel costs, while gaps included technology access, physical examination, training and privacy.
03The review analysed 16 articles from January 2020 to August 2022, with most in English and from a limited set of countries.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The review only covered articles published between January 2020 and August 2022, so it may not reflect later practice. The included studies came from a limited set of countries and continents, so they may not transfer to other health systems. Only 16 articles were analysed, and they were a mix of qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods studies. The review synthesizes varied reported contributions rather than measuring one outcome or testing one telenursing intervention.
Declared interests
The paper reports partial funding from CAPES, Finance Code 001; it does not report other conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that telenursing improves patient care outcomes. This review synthesizes reported experiences and workflow contributions, many from qualitative studies, and does not test a telenursing intervention against usual care.