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. 2020 Nov 26;8(11):e18774. doi: 10.2196/18774

Table 1.

Included quantitative studies.

Study design and author (year) Data collection method Target population Study location Research questions Negative implications of personal digital technology Purpose for digital technology use
Alameddine et al (2019) [23] Survey, cross-sectional 97 emergency department (ED) providers, including ED faculty members, attending physicians, medical students, residents, and nurses (33% nurses) Academic health center with the highest volume of patient visits in Lebanon 1. What are the frequency and patterns of smart device use among health care providers in the ED of a large academic health center in Lebanon?

  • Distraction

  • Patient perception

  • Information seeking for clinical use

  • Communication for clinical purposes

  • Personal communication purposes

  • Other personal uses
Bautista (2019) [24] Pen and paper survey 517 staff nurses 19 tertiary-level general hospitals in Metro Manila, Philippines 1. Using a ranking system, how do Filipino nurses use their smartphones for work purposes?
2. What are the differences in nurses' smartphone use for work purposes based on demographic and organizational factors?		 N/Aa

  • Communication for clinical purposes

  • Information seeking for clinical use
De Benedictis et al (2019) [25] Survey 125 nurses and 66 physicians An Italian university hospital in Rome, Italy 1. In what way is WhatsApp used in hospital settings by physicians and nurses with patients and between colleagues?
2. Which are the main perceived benefits and threats concerning the use of WhatsApp in a hospital
setting by physicians and nurses?
3. Which are the determinants (individual and/or organizational) of the use of WhatsApp in a hospital setting?
4. Is there an interplay between individual and organizational determinants?

  • Perceived risks (privacy and confidentiality)

  • Lack of organization regulations

  • Distraction

  • Communication for clinical purposes

  • Personal communication purposes
Di Muzio et al (2019) [26] Survey 193 nurses Sapienza University Hospital, Rome, Italy 1. What is the validity and reliability of the Nurses' Use of PCDsb Questionnaire in the Italian hospitals?

  • Increase error

  • Negative impact on performance

  • Distraction

  • Personal communication purposes

  • Information seeking for clinical use

  • Other personal uses
Flynn et al (2018) [27] Survey 735 acute care nurses, point of care and not point of care Six acute care medical-surgical facilities in an urban health care system in the Southern United States 1. What are the current rates of personal smartphone use by nurses in acute care settings?
2a. What are nurses' preferences regarding the use of smartphone functionality in acute care settings?
2b. Are there differences in use by age category or role?
3a. What are nurses' perceptions of the benefits and drawbacks of using smartphones in the acute care setting?
3b. Are there differences in perceptions by age category or role?

  • May upset families

  • Distraction

  • Increase error

  • Information seeking for clinical use

  • Communication for clinical purposes

  • Personal communication purposes

  • Other personal uses
Garner et al (2017) [28] Survey 97 acute care nurses and physicians (82.5% were nurses) 340+-bed tertiary facility in Bengaluru, India 1. What are the smartphone access and use, including future opportunities for mHealthc and potential ethical implications, among health care professionals practicing at a health care facility in Bengaluru, India?

  • Confidentiality

  • Misuse of health information

  • Patient anxiety

  • Cybercrime

  • Limited Wi-Fi access

  • Communication for clinical purposes

  • Personal communication purposes

  • Other personal uses
Grabowsky (2015) [29] Survey 59 advanced practice nurses (APNs) Alabama, United States; physician’s office, outpatient clinics, hospitals, academic health centers, employee health clinic, hospice, nurse practitioner–owned practice, Veterans Administration nursing home, urgent care, health department, and dialysis unit 1. What types of clinical questions are answered using smartphones?
2. Are there barriers to information seeking with smartphones?
3. What phone apps and online resources do APNs find most useful in clinical situations?
4. How do APNs view their current online searching skills?
5. What is the level of interest in receiving training in online searching and what type of training is preferred?
6. Is the use of smartphones to answer clinical questions related to gender, level of education, population of practice area, practice type, or years approved to practice as an APN?

  • Lack of internet access

  • Information seeking for clinical use
Hranchook et al (2018) [30] Survey 258 certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) Michigan Association of Nurse Anesthetists, United States 1. What are the clinical and nonclinical uses of mobile computing devices among Michigan CRNAs?
2. What are the experiences of Michigan CRNAs with regard to the impact of using these devices on patient care?

  • Distraction

  • Risk to patient

  • Performance decline

  • Policy

  • Information seeking for clinical use

  • Communication for clinical purposes

  • Personal communication purposes

  • Other personal uses
Mayer et al (2019) [31] Survey 1293 nurses across a range of settings, including hospital care, primary care, social health care, prehospital care, management, teaching and research, and private practice Nursing Association of Barcelona 1. Are nurses using health apps professionally and what types of apps are they using?
2. Among nurses, is there a need for training in the use of health apps?
3. What are nurses’ perceptions of health professional apps?
4. Is there a need for a certification process for health apps and what type of institution or organization should review and validate these apps for professional use?

  • Concern about information quality in health apps

  • Information seeking for clinical use
McBride et al (2015) [32] Survey 825 acute care hospital registered nurses (RNs) Members of Academy of Medical Surgical Nurses, United States 1. What is the frequency of nonwork-related use of personal mobile phones and other personal communication devices among hospital RNs? N/A

  • Personal communication purposes

  • Other personal uses
McBride and LeVasseur (2017) [33] Survey 1268 nurses (staff, charge, advanced practice, managers, faculty, and executive) Members of the Academy of Medical Surgical Nurses and the Society of Pediatric Nurses, United States 1. How do RNs working on inpatient units use their PCDs at work (excluding lunch and breaks) and what are their opinions about how PCD use impacted their work and the work of their colleagues?

  • Distraction

  • Negative impact on performance

  • Information seeking for clinical use

  • Communication for clinical purposes

  • Personal communication purposes

  • Other personal uses
Mobasheri et al (2015) [34] Survey 564 acute care nurses and 287 doctors Five individual hospital sites in London, United Kingdom 1. What are the ways that frontline staff are using smartphones, tablet devices, and mHealth apps in the clinical environment?

  • Privacy

  • Communication for clinical purposes
Moore and Jayewaedene (2014) [35] Survey 82 acute care nurses and 334 doctors 40+ acute trusts in England 1. How do nurses and doctors use their smartphones at work, what do they use them for, and do they assess the risks associated with the apps they use?

  • Uncomfortable using phone in front of patients

  • Information seeking for clinical use
Piscotty et al (2016) [36] Survey 140 nurses in Registered Nurse to Bachelor of Science in Nursing program (RNs already had worked as nurses) Public school of nursing in Southeast Michigan, United States 1. What is the prevalence of social media use by nurses during work hours? N/A

  • Personal communication purposes

  • Other personal uses
Pucciarelli et al (2019) [37] Survey 256 acute care nurses who worked in hospitals, outpatient facilities, or day surgeries Seven hospitals in Central and Southern Italy 1. What are the work- and nonwork-related activities performed by nurses using smartphones in the workplace?
2. What are the differences between smartphone use and nurses' age, gender, and working environment?
3.What are the positive or negative influences that smartphones have on nurses' performance during their health care activities?

  • Distraction

  • Negative impact on performance

  • Inappropriate recording

  • Inappropriate vital signs measuring

  • Information seeking for clinical use

  • Communication for clinical purposes

  • Personal communication purposes

  • Other personal uses
Stergiannis et al (2017) [38] Survey 974 acute care medical and nursing staff (18.5% nursing assistants and 42.6% nurses, with the rest being doctors and junior doctors) Six general hospitals in Athens, Greece 1. What is the clinical use of smartphones among medical and nursing staff in Greece?

  • Unaware of apps that can be used to assist them in their daily clinical task

  • Internet access

  • Did not think smartphones were useful

  • Unsure about appropriate sites and apps

  • Distrustful of information

  • Lack of education on how to use phone

 N/A

aN/A: not applicable; this information was not reported in the study.

bPCD: personal communication device.

cmHealth: mobile health.