Belongingness and its implications for undergraduate health professions education: a scoping review

Belongingness is well recognised within higher education to have an important influence on the performance and well-being of learners. There appears to be little awareness of its importance in undergraduate health professions education. To identify how belongingness has been defined and measured, its impact on the performance and well-being of learners, and how it can be fostered in educational settings. A scoping review to map the published research in the wider higher education literature (including undergraduate health professions education). PubMed and ERIC were used. Only peer-reviewed articles in the English Language between 1996 and 2016 were included. Fifty-one relevant articles were identified with 16 related to nurse clinical education. No studies were found in undergraduate medical education or in primary care educational settings. Common features were identified within the several definitions of belongingness. A thematic analysis of articles revealed that belongingness has an important role in student motivation and learning identity formation and in facilitating positive mental health. The scoping review highlighted the importance of belongingness in higher and undergraduate health professions education, with implications for future practice and policy. Further research is recommended. There are important implications for curriculum development and delivery, including clinical placements; within secondary and primary care health professional education.