Public image of nursing: an integrative review of challenges and solutions

The nursing profession, despite comprising the largest segment of the global healthcare workforce, faces a significant challenge: a negative public image. This unfavorable perception adversely impacts recruitment, retention, and job satisfaction. Entrenched stereotypes and cultural biases often erode the profession's credibility and diminish its appeal. This integrative review explores the challenges contributing to this public image issue and identifies potential solutions to enhance it.

This integrative review followed the Whittemore and Knafl's (2005) method, encompassing five stages: problem identification, literature search, data evaluation, analysis, and presentation. A comprehensive search of relevant databases, including SID, Irandoc, Magiran, Google Scholar, Web of Science, PubMed, CINAHL, and Scopus, was conducted using the keywords "image," "public," "nurs*," "solutions," and "challenges" covering the period from January 2010 to January 2025. Of the 868 articles initially retrieved, 54 met the inclusion criteria and were assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool for inclusion in the final review.

Critical appraisal and synthesis of the selected articles revealed three overarching themes related to the public image of nursing: professional enhancement, professional advancement, and systemic factors. These themes encompassed nine sub-themes.

This review demonstrates that the public image of nursing is influenced by both professional and systemic factors, with nurses themselves playing a critical role in shaping perceptions. Improving this image requires a collaborative effort involving nurses, healthcare organizations, and policymakers. Crucially, nurses must cultivate a confident and self-assured professional identity to ensure the public's perception accurately reflects the vital contributions of the nursing profession.