Interventions Intended to Improve the Well‐Being at Work of Nurses Working in Care Settings for Older People—A Systematic Review

Abstract

<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Nurses' well-being at work (WAW) is important for overall health care outcomes. Nurses often navigate complex roles, contending with time constraints, ethical challenges and societal undervaluation, underscoring the necessity of addressing their WAW.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The aim of this systematic review was to analyse the interventions that potentially improve nurses' WAW in care settings for older people. The ultimate goal is to provide an understanding of this field and advance the development of WAW interventions. We performed a systematic review which was registered in PROSPERO and conducted according to PRISMA guideline. We conducted a comprehensive literature search across five scientific databases and one platform in February 2023.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Out of 5975 records, we included 21 full-text articles in the review. Interventions were typically complex and focused on (a) nurses' health, (b) nursing care, (c) care facilities and (d) management. Interventions resulted in a range of outcomes on the (a) physical, (b) psychosocial and (c) environmental dimensions of WAW, with most interventions leading to positive outcomes, albeit with instances of negative and neutral results.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Interventions focusing on nurses' health or care facilities can be promising to improve WAW of nurses working in care settings for older people. Interventions aimed at improving the WAW have focused on various aspects. Despite the mainly positive outcomes, some interventions can also compromise nurses' WAW.</p><p><strong>Implications for practice: </strong>Strategies and interventions aimed at improving nurses' WAW are needed in practice as nurses' WAW is crucial in recruiting to and retaining nurses in care settings for older people. Promoting WAW also contributes to the quality of care for older people and the provision of ethically high-quality health services.</p><p><strong>Trial registration: </strong>The review protocol was registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews, PROSPERO (CRD42023399478).</p>