Nurses have traditionally been regarded as clinicians that deliver compassionate, safe, and empathetic health care (Nurses again outpace other professions for honesty & ethics, 2018). Caring is a fundamental characteristic, expectation, and moral obligation of the nursing and caregiving professions (Nursing: Scope and standards of practice, American Nurses Association, Silver Spring, MD, 2015). Along with caring, nurses are expected to undertake ever‐expanding duties and complex tasks. In part because of the growing physical, intellectual and emotional demandingness, of nursing as well (...) as technological advances, artificial intelligence (AI) and AI care robots are rapidly changing the healthcare landscape. As technology becomes more advanced, efficient, and economical, opportunities and pressure to introduce AI into nursing care will only increase. In the first part of the article, we review recent and existing applications of AI in nursing and speculate on future use. Second, situate our project within the recent literature on the ethics of nursing and AI. Third, we explore three dominant theories of caring and the two paradigmatic expressions of caring (touch and presence) and conclude that AI—at least for the foreseeable future—is incapable of caring in the sense central to nursing and caregiving ethics. We conclude that for AI to be implemented ethically, it cannot transgress the core values of nursing, usurp aspects of caring that can only meaningfully be carried out by human beings, and it must support, open, or improve opportunities for nurses to provide the uniquely human aspects of care. (shrink)

Background: Nosocomial infections represent a serious challenge for healthcare systems worldwide. Adherence to hand hygiene plays a major role in infection prevention and control. These adherence rates can be improved through behaviour tracking innovations. This requires the systems to be widely implemented and accepted. Therefore, both a systematic analysis of the normative issues related and the evaluation of technology acceptance are equally important. Objectives: To explore and describe relevant aspects regarding the acceptance of technology and ethical implications using a tracking (...) device to measure and improve adherence to hand hygiene. Research design: A quantitative study with a descriptive design was performed. Participants and research context: A total of 75 questionnaires were collected in three hospitals in Germany. Acceptance of technology was measured with n = 60 participants and ethical assessment with n = 15 participants. Ethical considerations: Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the institutional review board. Findings: The acceptance of technologies improving hygiene in general was good. The experience with technologies in general and the acceptance of the specific technology ) was moderate. There was a significant positive correlation between the acceptance and experience of technology in general. Ethical concerns played a minor role. The need for practical support was a key topic. Discussion: Study participants accepted technologies improving hygiene; however, the specific device implemented was only moderately accepted. This creates specific opportunities in the implementation process for higher later acceptance. More practical support and an increase in experience may create opportunities for device implementation with high acceptance and low ethical concerns. Conclusion: Study results indicate a vast potential for improving the implementation process of hand hygiene technologies. Ethical concerns in this study did not seem to be a relevant barrier for successful implementation of hand hygiene technologies. (shrink)

Background Changes in health needs led to an increase in virtual care practices such as telemedicine. Nursing plays an essential role in this practice as it is the key to accessing the healthcare system. It is important that this branch of nursing is developed considering all the ethical aspects of nursing care, and not just the legal concepts of the practice. However, this question has not been widely explored in the literature and it is of crucial relevance in the new (...) concept of care. Objective The purpose of this scoping review is to identify the ethical aspects of the development of telemedicine from a nursing practice perspective. Methods A scoping review of the literature based on Arksey and O’Malley’s framework. The search was conducted in Scopus, PubMed/MEDLINE and CINAHL databases, from 2012 to 2022. A total of 1322 articles were retrieved, of which 12 met the inclusion criteria. Ethical considerations The research was conducted in accordance with the best scientific practices. Findings The most relevant aspects were the safety of the patient, the benefits for the user and the digital competence of the professionals. Informed consent and patient’s willingness to use new technologies were relevant to the practice, as was person-centered care and how telemedicine can influence the quality of the therapeutic relationship. Another relevant issue was the concern about professional competence for optimal outcomes. Conclusion It is necessary to further explore and develop the ethical aspects of the new practices, disassociating them from the legal aspects only. Professionals demand more training providing them with more competence and confidence. (shrink)