A systematic review of collaborative robots for nurses: where are we now, and where is the evidence?

Introduction: Robots present an opportunity to enhance healthcare delivery. Rather than targeting complete automation and nurse replacement, collaborative robots, or “cobots”, might be designed to allow nurses to focus on high-value caregiving. While many institutions are now investing in these platforms, there is little publicly available data on how cobots are being developed, implemented, and evaluated to determine if and how they support nursing practice in the real world. Methods: This systematic review investigates the current state of cobotic technologies designed to assist nurses in hospital settings, their intended applications, and impacts on nurses and patient care. A comprehensive database search identified 28 relevant peer-reviewed articles published since 2018 which involve real studies with robotic platforms in simulated or actual clinical contexts. Results: Few cobots were explicitly designed to reduce nursing workload through administrative or logistical assistance. Most included studies were designed as patient-centered rather than nurse-centered, but included assistance for tasks like medication delivery, vital monitoring, and social interaction. Most applications emerged from India, with limited evidence from the United States despite commercial availability of nurse-assistive cobots. Robots ranged from proof-of-concept to commercially deployed systems. Discussion: This review highlights the need for further published studies on cobotic development and evaluation. A larger body of evidence is needed to recognize current limitations and pragmatic opportunities to assist nurses and patients using state-of-the-art robotics. Human-centered design can assist in discovering the right opportunities for cobotic assistance. Committed research-practice partnerships and human-centered design are needed to guide the technical development of nurse-centered cobotic solutions.