A Scoping Review of the Gaze of Nurses with Proficient Skills in Patient Observation

Abstract

　A literature survey was performed using the scoping review method proposed by Arksey and O’Malley (2005). We aimed to clarify the following points: i ) how nurses with proficient observation skills employ their gaze across a variety of situations, and ii ) to find research studies that explore the possible connection between gaze and attention. The literature databases used were as follows: MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, EMBASE, Cochrane, Igaku Chuo Zasshi, and CiNii. The search was conducted with the following search keywords: “nurse,” “gaze,” “eye movement,” and “eye movement measurement.” As a result, seven pieces of international literature and 14 pieces of literature from Japan were identified. Nurses with proficient observation skills tended to gaze on more important areas and also to concentrate their gaze on the patient’s face. While many studies were conducted with simulated environments, still images, and videos, the validity of these task settings were rarely evaluated. Furthermore, we failed to find studies that take attention, one of the important components of observation into consideration, thereby highlighting the need for research on how attention is directed in this area.