Digital Health Technologies for Parental Education in Neonatal Intensive Care Units: Current Evidence and Implications for Nursing Practice

The neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is a highly complex and emotionally challenging clinical environment, and this situation can make it difficult for parents to interact with their infants and to adapt to the learning process. Parents are often expected to understand complex medical information in a short time, while also coping with emotional stress. In practice, traditional face-to-face education is often insufficient, mainly due to time limitations, differences in how information is delivered, and varying levels of parental health literacy. For this reason, digital health technologies have increasingly started to be used as supportive tools in recent years. In this review, we aimed to explore how digital health technologies are used for parent education in NICUs, and to evaluate their possible effects on both parents and infants. At the same time, we also focused on what these developments may mean for nursing practice. A narrative literature review was conducted using PubMed, Google Scholar, and Semantic Scholar databases (2015-2025). Relevant literature on this topic was reviewed using commonly used academic databases and key search terms related to NICU, telemedicine, parent education, and mobile applications. The included studies were then examined using a thematic approach. According to the findings, a range of digital tools are currently being used in NICU settings, including videoconferencing systems, webcams, mobile applications, web-based platforms, and messaging services. Many studies suggest that these tools may help reduce parental anxiety, increase satisfaction, and support parent-infant bonding. However, the results are not completely consistent. It appears that the effectiveness of these technologies depends largely on how they are implemented in clinical practice. In addition, some concerns have been raised, especially regarding the reliability of certain mobile applications and possible patient safety risks in poorly organized telemedicine use. Overall, digital health technologies seem to be most helpful when they are used alongside nurse-led care rather than as a replacement for it. Adequate training, manageable workloads, and equal access for families also appear to be important factors. These findings suggest that careful and well-planned implementation is necessary and that nurses continue to play a key role in supporting parents through digital education in NICUs.