The rise of virtual care in nursing practice: A global bibliometric review

IF 6.3 4区医学 Q1 NURSING

Journal of Nursing Regulation Pub Date : 2025-10-01 DOI:10.1016/j.jnr.2025.08.013

Alex S. Borromeo MN, RN , Allan M. Manaloto PhD, RN, LPT , Rhealeen V. Vicedo MAN, RN , Ronilo Antonio PhD, LPT , Jonathan D. Cura PhD, RN , Walton Wider PhD

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Virtual care technologies such as telehealth, eHealth, remote monitoring, and telenursing are now integral to healthcare. Nurses are key to their delivery, yet research regarding these modalities remains fragmented, with limited theoretical grounding and attention to structural factors. Focused synthesis is needed to highlight the role of nursing and guide education, policy, and practice.

Purpose

This study aimed to map the global landscape of virtual care in nursing by identifying trends, intellectual foundations, and emerging directions through comprehensive bibliometric analysis. It addresses the lack of an integrative synthesis that critically evaluates how virtual care is conceptualized, studied, and applied within the nursing profession.

Methods

A bibliometric research design was adopted that integrated co-citation and co-word analysis techniques. In total, 7,669 peer-reviewed articles were retrieved from the Scopus database. The VOSviewer software was used to conduct co-citation analysis to identify influential publications and intellectual clusters, and co-word analysis was used to explore thematic structures and emerging discourses.

Results

Co-citation analysis revealed four dominant domains: (1) theoretical and methodological foundations; (2) telehealth applications and eHealth readiness; (3) clinical outcomes and patient-centered interventions; and (4) policy and workforce development. The co-word analysis included themes in health service delivery, digital literacy, interprofessional collaboration, and psychosocial dimensions of elder care. The findings point to underexplored areas such as equity, nurse workload, and sociotechnical integration.

Conclusions

This dual-lens analysis offers a novel synthesis of virtual nursing care. This study advances the systems-level understanding of virtual care by revealing areas of robust insights as well as neglected areas of study. The findings support evidence-based strategies for nursing education, workforce development, and the equitable implementation of digital health.

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虚拟护理在护理实践中的兴起：一项全球文献计量回顾

虚拟医疗技术，如远程医疗、电子医疗、远程监控和远程护理，现在是医疗保健不可或缺的一部分。护士是分娩的关键，然而关于这些模式的研究仍然是碎片化的，缺乏理论基础和对结构因素的关注。需要有针对性的综合，以突出护理的作用，并指导教育，政策和实践。目的本研究旨在通过综合文献计量分析，识别趋势、知识基础和新兴方向，绘制护理领域虚拟护理的全球图景。它解决了缺乏一个综合的综合，批判性地评估虚拟护理是如何概念化，研究，并在护理专业应用。方法采用文献计量学研究设计，结合共被引和共词分析技术。总共从Scopus数据库中检索了7669篇同行评议的文章。使用VOSviewer软件进行共被引分析，以识别有影响力的出版物和智力集群，并使用共词分析来探索主题结构和新兴话语。结果：(1)理论和方法基础；(2)远程医疗应用和电子医疗准备；(3)临床结果和以患者为中心的干预措施；(4)政策和劳动力发展。共词分析的主题包括卫生服务提供、数字扫盲、专业间合作和老年人护理的社会心理层面。研究结果指出了未被充分开发的领域，如公平、护士工作量和社会技术整合。结论双镜头分析为虚拟护理提供了一种新的综合方法。本研究通过揭示强大的见解领域以及被忽视的研究领域，推进了对虚拟护理的系统级理解。研究结果支持护理教育、劳动力发展和公平实施数字卫生的循证战略。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Nursing Regulation NURSING-

CiteScore

4.60

自引率

12.50%

发文量

审稿时长

54 days

期刊介绍： Journal of Nursing Regulation (JNR), the official journal of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN®), is a quarterly, peer-reviewed, academic and professional journal. It publishes scholarly articles that advance the science of nursing regulation, promote the mission and vision of NCSBN, and enhance communication and collaboration among nurse regulators, educators, practitioners, and the scientific community. The journal supports evidence-based regulation, addresses issues related to patient safety, and highlights current nursing regulatory issues, programs, and projects in both the United States and the international community. In publishing JNR, NCSBN''s goal is to develop and share knowledge related to nursing and other healthcare regulation across continents and to promote a greater awareness of regulatory issues among all nurses.