Environmental Factors in Nursing Workplaces that Promote Resilience during Pandemics: Scoping Review

This scoping review explored the main environmental factors in the workplace that contribute to nursing resilience in respiratory infectious pandemic events.

There is strong evidence in the literature about the influence of individual factors on nurses' resilience and a growing interest on the impact of the workplace environment on these factors. Therefore, a review that synthesizes environmental factors that support nurses' resilience in pandemic events is timely.

A scoping review of publications written in English, Spanish, and Portuguese of registered publications until December 2020 in MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, Scopus, SciELO, CINAHL, WoS, BVS, and APA identified 10,767 potential papers. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines were used during the literature review process. The Health Services Workplace Environmental Resilience Model (HSWERM) was used to guide exploration and synthesis.

Thirty-two (32) publications met inclusion criteria. Most of the HSWERM workplace factors were mentioned in the literature. The main workplace environmental factors that were identified included communication, inter-professional collaboration, access to equipment, targeted training, and supporting well-being.

Recognition of these key environmental factors in the workplace will help to implement more effective actions to promote resiliency prior to and during emergency situations. It will also enable managers to include, in any preparation planning, contingencies to protect these factors with the view of sustainable resilience of nursing staff throughout the emergency event.