An integrative review on interventions for strengthening professional governance in nursing

To identify the interventions for strengthening professional nursing governance and describe their outcomes.

The ever-changing health care environment requires empowering governance structures and shared decision-making. The costly nature of reshaping governance makes the identification of effective interventions vital.

An integrative review was carried out between January 2007 and May 2020 in the CINAHL, PubMed, Scopus, PsycINFO, Business source, Cochrane and Medic databases. The quality of the 12 included studies was evaluated with the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tools.

Eight studies reported that the implemented interventions had positively influenced organisation regarding creating positive work environments, building new leadership competencies and increasing personnel's ability to take part in decision-making. The overall quality of the evidence was judged to be moderate.

Comprehensive decision-making structures, efficient teamwork and transformational leadership competencies among nurse leaders enable personnel to participate in decision-making. Further research is needed to identify the most effective interventions for improving professional governance.

Nurse leaders have to ensure that personnel have adequate opportunities to congregate and decide over matters concerning their work. Positive organisational climate and relational leadership style, along with highly functioning teams, are important prerequisites to nursing councils producing the desired outcomes.