Utilisation of robots in nursing practice: an umbrella review

Background The provision of nursing care across the globe is confronted with a range of challenges, including the surge in the older persons population which amplifies the reliance on nursing services and exacerbates the shortage of nurses worldwide. A possible solution could be the broader implementation of robotics in nursing practice. Therefore, this umbrella review aimed to assess and synthesise systematically reviewed evidence on the utilisation of robots in nursing practice.

Methods An extensive search of nine relevant databases was conducted for research syntheses. We included reviews that reported the experiences of nurses, perceived benefits and challenges of using robots in nursing practice in all care settings and published between the years 2012 and 2022. A supplementary search was conducted in October 2024 using the same criteria. Quality appraisal, data extraction and syntheses were carried out according to Joanna Brigg’s Institute’s guidelines for undertaking umbrella reviews. The protocol of this umbrella review was registered on PROSPERO prior to the commencement of the review (Registration ID CRD42022361835).

Results Thirteen reviews (representing 558 studies) were included following the quality appraisal. The evidence was summarised in narrative form with supporting quotes from the reviews. The findings were grouped into categories, which were further categorised into three main synthesised findings: ‘Documented experiences of nurses in using robots’, ‘perceived benefits of using robots’ and ‘perceived challenges of using robots’. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first umbrella review that synthesised evidence on the experiences and perceptions of nurses regarding the use of robots. This umbrella review has limitations as it is not the primary source of evidence, relying on the quality of the included reviews and studies.

Conclusions Evidence shows that there is a perception that robots can support nurses in their work. However, thereis not enough experiential evidence from nurses who work with robots in practice to support this. There are also perceived challenges that are of concern to nurses, particularly in relation to liability, ethical dilemmas and patient safety. The authors have no competing interests to declare in the conduct of this review.