Nurses' Roles in Supporting Digital Engagement and Self-Management in Adults with Type 2 Diabetes: A Scoping Review.

Background

Adults with type 2 diabetes increasingly use patient portals, telemonitoring systems, mobile applications, text messaging programs, and other digital services to support self-management. In practice, however, these approaches often still depend on nursing support to help patients understand, use, and sustain digital care in everyday settings. This scoping review mapped how nurses are involved in supporting adults with type 2 diabetes to use digital tools, information, and services for self-management across care settings.

Methods

This scoping review followed Joanna Briggs Institute methodology and was reported in line with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews. The review question was guided by the Population, Concept, and Context framework. A literature search was conducted in January 2026 in PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and EBSCO/CINAHL. A total of 230 records were identified, 71 duplicates were removed, and 159 records underwent title and abstract screening. Fifty-three full-text articles were assessed for eligibility, and 15 studies met the inclusion criteria. Data were extracted using a structured charting table and synthesized descriptively and thematically.

Results

The 15 included studies were published between 2021 and 2026 and represented evidence from 10 countries across primary care, community health centers, telehealth programs, and hospital-linked services. Five interrelated themes were identified: nurses as digital self-management educators; nurses as remote monitors and care coordinators; nurses as facilitators of digital engagement, confidence, and supported use; nurses as implementation partners in digital diabetes care; and equity, access, and context as shaping conditions of digital diabetes support. Only one study directly measured digital health literacy, whereas the remaining studies addressed digital engagement more indirectly through onboarding, portal communication, telemonitoring, reminders, tailored feedback, and implementation work. Common barriers included workload, unclear responsibilities, technical difficulties, age- or literacy-related access challenges, language needs, and uneven infrastructure.

Conclusions

The included studies suggest that nurses commonly contributed to making digital diabetes care more understandable, usable, and actionable for adults with type 2 diabetes. Their roles were described across education, monitoring, coordination, implementation, and support for digital engagement. Future studies could measure digital health literacy more explicitly, describe nursing tasks in greater detail, and examine how equity-related factors shape digital diabetes care.