Augmented reality in nursing: Designing a framework for a technology assessment

Abstract

During the last decade, research emphasized the wide range of possibilities of augmented reality (AR). At the same time, Information Technology usage in nursing increased. The question occurs if AR can have reasonable fields of application in nursing. Nursing hinges strongly on the emotional and physical relationship between patients and their nurses. This may lead to ethical conflicts while implementing AR leading to special challenges. Therefore the realization of a technology assessment (TA) seams to be reasonable. We designed a framework for a TA of AR in nursing through workshops with nursing scientists and practical partners. The framework is designed to address ethical aspects of AR in nursing through techno-ethical scenarios, a plausibility assessment, and a participatory approach. © 2017 International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) and IOS Press.