Virtual Nursing in Residential Aged Care: What Is Known? A Rapid Review.

Only 13 studies were included, and they used very different designs, settings and interventions, so they cannot be compared directly. Most studies did not report resident or family perspectives, so it is unclear how residents experienced virtual nursing. The role of nurses was often not separated from other clinicians in multidisciplinary virtual care teams. Time needed by onsite staff and virtual nurses was usually not reported. The review was rapid: it searched six databases, excluded grey literature and had fewer researchers involved than a full systematic review. The two randomised controlled trials had equivocal findings, and one raised concerns about statistical power. Many studies were conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, when infection control may have made virtual care more acceptable or necessary than usual. Marginalised or vulnerable groups were often absent from reporting.

The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The review was funded by the Department of Health and Aged Care, Australian Government.

Do not read this review as proof that virtual nursing works for residents. The evidence was mixed, many studies were descriptive or qualitative, and resident perspectives were missing.