Leveraging Smart Health Technologies in Critical Care Nursing to Enhance Palliative Care Quality for End-of-Life Patients

Ghada Elsayed Mohamed Osman ¹, Sayeda Mohamed Ahmed Soliman ², Lamiaa Abd El Hakeem Ali Ahmed ^3a,3b, Eman Mohamed Mohamed Abobakr ^4a,4b, Sara Fathi Mahmoud ^5a,5b, Bardies Shaban Mohamed ⁶, Manal Mohamed Ahmed Ayed ⁷, Mona Muhamed Boraey ⁸, Hamdya Ahmed Ali Mohamed ⁹, Maha Salah Abdullah Ismail ^10a,10b, Heba Mohamed Mohamed Mohamed ¹¹

¹Lecturer, Critical Care and Emergency Nursing Department, Faculty of Nursing, Alryada University for Science and Technology, Egypt.

²Assistant Professor of Community Health Nursing, North Private College of Nursing, Arar, Saudi Arabia; PhD, Cairo University, Faculty of Nursing, Egypt.
ORCID: 0009-0001-7158-9903

^3aLecturer of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
^3bAssistant Professor of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing, North Private College of Nursing, Arar, Saudi Arabia.
Email: lamiaabdelhakim@cu.edu.sa
ORCID: 0009-0004-1688-0230

^4aLecturer of Critical Care and Emergency Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Ain Shams University, Egypt.
^4bAssistant Professor, Nursing Department, North Private College of Nursing, Arar, Saudi Arabia.
Email: dr.eman.abobakr@nursing.asu.edu.eg; emanabobakr@nec.edu.sa

^5aAssistant Professor of Critical Care & Emergency Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Ain Shams University, Egypt.
^5bAssistant Professor, Nursing Department, College of Nursing, Majmaah University, Saudi Arabia.
Email: dr.sara.fathi@nursing.asu.edu.eg; sf.mahmoud@mu.edu.sa

⁶Lecturer, Medical Surgical Nursing Department, Faculty of Nursing, Alryada University for Science and Technology, Egypt.

⁷Professor of Pediatric Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Sohag University, Sohag, Egypt.

⁸Computer and Communications Engineer, Department of Information Technology, Faculty of Nursing, Sohag University, Egypt.

⁹Lecturer, Critical Care and Emergency Nursing Department, Faculty of Nursing, Beni-Suef University, Egypt.

^10aMSN, PhD, BLS Instructor, Lecturer, Critical Care and Emergency Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.
^10bAssistant Professor, Critical Care and Emergency Nursing, Medical-Surgical Nursing Department, College of Nursing, Taibah University, Madinaa, KSA.
Email: msismail@taibahu.edu.sa
ORCID: 0000-0003-3060-7068

¹¹Assistant Professor, Al-Rayan National College of Nursing, Saudi Arabia.
Email: hm.mohamed@amc.edu.sa

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ABSTRACT

Background: In the intensive care unit (ICU), managing end-of-life (EOL) care is often hindered by delayed symptom recognition and communication gaps. Smart Health Technologies (SHT)—including AI-driven symptom monitors, wearable biosensors, and digital communication tools—offer a specialized framework for nurses to transition from curative to palliative goals more effectively.

Aim of the study: Evaluate the effect of integrating Smart Health Technologies on critical care nursing to enhance palliative care quality for end-of-life patients.

Methods: A quasi-experimental, one-group pretest-posttest study was conducted. The sample consisted of 50 critical care nurses and 50 EOL patients, included using convenience sampling from intensive care units at Sohag University Hospitals. Data were collected using the Demographic Data Sheet (divided into Part I: Nurses' Demographic and Professional Data Sheet and Part II: Patients' Clinical and Demographic Data Sheet), the Palliative Care Quality Assessment Tool for patients, and the Nursing Competency in EOL Care Scale for nurses, administered before and after the technological intervention.

Results: Post-intervention results showed a statistically significant improvement in care outcomes (p < 0.001). Patients reported a 35% reduction in unmanaged pain scores and a significant increase in spiritual and emotional comfort due to proactive nursing interventions triggered by smart sensors. Nurses' confidence in EOL care management increased by 42%. The use of AI-driven alerts significantly reduced the time-to-intervention for respiratory distress by an average of 15 minutes compared to pre-intervention manual monitoring. Families of the 50 patients reported higher satisfaction with the frequency and clarity of updates facilitated by the smart digital interface.

Conclusion: The integration of Smart Health Technologies into critical care nursing significantly enhances the quality of life for EOL patients by enabling precise, proactive symptom management. For nurses, these technologies reduce the cognitive load and provide decision support that fosters more compassionate and timely palliative care. These findings suggest that SHT should be a standard component of ICU palliative protocols to ensure a dignified dying process.

Keywords: Critical Care Nursing, End-of-Life, Palliative Care, Smart Health Technologies, Quality of Care.

How to cite this article: Osman GEM, Soliman SMA, Ahmed LAEHA, Abobakr EMM, Mahmoud SF, Mohamed BS, Ayed MMA, Boraey MM, Mohamed HAA, Ismail MSA, Mohamed HMM. Leveraging smart health technologies in critical care nursing to enhance palliative care quality for end-of-life patients. Int J Drug Deliv Technol. 2026;16(7s): 360-374; DOI: 10.25258/ijddt.16.7s.38

Source of support: Nil.

Conflict of interest: None