Interventions for nurses' well-being at work: a quantitative systematic review
Johanna Romppanen1, Arja Häggman-Laitila1,2
1Department of Nursing Science, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
Journal of Advanced Nursing
|November 20, 2016
Summary
This systematic review synthesized research on interventions to improve nurses
Area of Science:
- Nursing Research
- Occupational Health
- Psychology
Background:
- Previous reviews focused on healthcare professionals' well-being through the lens of burnout.
- Research on specific interventions for nurses' well-being and their effectiveness is limited and fragmented.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically gather, assess, and synthesize current research on interventions designed to enhance nurses' well-being at work.
Main Methods:
- A quantitative systematic review was conducted following the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination procedures.
- Searches were performed across CINAHL, Cochrane, EBSCO, PubMed, PsycInfo, and Scopus databases (2009-March 2015).
- Included studies comprised randomized controlled trials (RCTs), controlled before-after (CBA) studies, and interrupted time-series (ITS) designs, assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool.
Main Results:
- Six interventions were identified: two person-directed, two combined person- and organization-directed, and two organization-directed.
- Interventions primarily targeted stress management, colleague interaction, work methods/conditions, or professional skills supervision.
- Four of the six interventions demonstrated moderate evidence of effectiveness for nurses in inpatient and outpatient settings.
Conclusions:
- Significant variation exists in the conceptual underpinnings and evaluation methods of interventions.
- Interventions were implemented heterogeneously across the reviewed studies.
- Further research is needed on standardized interventions for nurses' well-being with long-term follow-up assessments.