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A global overview of healthcare workers’ turnover intention amid COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review with future directions

A global overview of healthcare workers’ turnover intention amid COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review with future directions
A global overview of healthcare workers’ turnover intention amid COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review with future directions
Abstract Background Globally, the health workforce has long suffered from labour shortages. This has been exacerbated by the workload increase caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Major collapses in healthcare systems across the world during the peak of the pandemic led to calls for strategies to alleviate the increasing job attrition problem within the healthcare sector. This turnover may worsen given the overwhelming pressures experienced by the health workforce during the pandemic, and proactive measures should be taken to retain healthcare workers. This review aims to examine the factors affecting turnover intention among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods A mixed studies systematic review was conducted. The PubMed, Embase, Scopus, CINAHL, Web of Science and PsycINFO databases were searched from January 2020 to March 2022. The Joanna Briggs Institute’s Critical Appraisal Tools and the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool version 2018 were applied by two independent researchers to critically appraise the methodological quality. Findings were synthesised using a convergent integrated approach and categorised thematically. Results Forty-three studies, including 39 quantitative, two qualitative and two mixed methods studies were included in this review. Eighteen were conducted in the Middle East, ten in the Americas, nine in the Asia–Pacific region and six in Europe. Nurses (n = 35) were included in the majority of the studies, while physicians (n = 13), allied health workers (n = 11) and healthcare administrative or management staff (n = 7) were included in a smaller proportion. Five themes emerged from the data synthesis: (1) fear of COVID-19 exposure, (2) psychological responses to stress, (3) socio-demographic characteristics, (4) adverse working conditions, and (5) organisational support. Conclusions A wide range of factors influence healthcare workers’ turnover intention in times of pandemic. Future research should be more focused on specific factors, such as working conditions or burnout, and specific vulnerable groups, including migrant healthcare workers and healthcare profession minorities, to aid policymakers in adopting strategies to support and incentivise them to retain them in their healthcare jobs.
figshare
Poon, Yuan-Sheng Ryan
d09a86cb-4f21-45d3-a74c-0517916815c7
Lin, Yongxing Patrick
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Griffiths, Peter
ac7afec1-7d72-4b83-b016-3a43e245265b
Yong, Keng Kwang
11577e69-eb70-47ea-b7a8-190eec180695
Seah, Betsy
4f31830c-4adf-40b0-93ee-2a55a2c31ccc
Liaw, Sok Ying
b3a92948-d014-406a-ae13-e64dcd94c38d
Poon, Yuan-Sheng Ryan
d09a86cb-4f21-45d3-a74c-0517916815c7
Lin, Yongxing Patrick
9d4b19e1-c404-49a4-b800-2c0b1f9c093f
Griffiths, Peter
ac7afec1-7d72-4b83-b016-3a43e245265b
Yong, Keng Kwang
11577e69-eb70-47ea-b7a8-190eec180695
Seah, Betsy
4f31830c-4adf-40b0-93ee-2a55a2c31ccc
Liaw, Sok Ying
b3a92948-d014-406a-ae13-e64dcd94c38d

(2022) A global overview of healthcare workers’ turnover intention amid COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review with future directions. figshare doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.c.6215352.v1 [Dataset]

Record type: Dataset

Abstract

Abstract Background Globally, the health workforce has long suffered from labour shortages. This has been exacerbated by the workload increase caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Major collapses in healthcare systems across the world during the peak of the pandemic led to calls for strategies to alleviate the increasing job attrition problem within the healthcare sector. This turnover may worsen given the overwhelming pressures experienced by the health workforce during the pandemic, and proactive measures should be taken to retain healthcare workers. This review aims to examine the factors affecting turnover intention among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods A mixed studies systematic review was conducted. The PubMed, Embase, Scopus, CINAHL, Web of Science and PsycINFO databases were searched from January 2020 to March 2022. The Joanna Briggs Institute’s Critical Appraisal Tools and the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool version 2018 were applied by two independent researchers to critically appraise the methodological quality. Findings were synthesised using a convergent integrated approach and categorised thematically. Results Forty-three studies, including 39 quantitative, two qualitative and two mixed methods studies were included in this review. Eighteen were conducted in the Middle East, ten in the Americas, nine in the Asia–Pacific region and six in Europe. Nurses (n = 35) were included in the majority of the studies, while physicians (n = 13), allied health workers (n = 11) and healthcare administrative or management staff (n = 7) were included in a smaller proportion. Five themes emerged from the data synthesis: (1) fear of COVID-19 exposure, (2) psychological responses to stress, (3) socio-demographic characteristics, (4) adverse working conditions, and (5) organisational support. Conclusions A wide range of factors influence healthcare workers’ turnover intention in times of pandemic. Future research should be more focused on specific factors, such as working conditions or burnout, and specific vulnerable groups, including migrant healthcare workers and healthcare profession minorities, to aid policymakers in adopting strategies to support and incentivise them to retain them in their healthcare jobs.

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Published date: 1 January 2022

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 472659
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/472659
PURE UUID: e90a641a-84df-42b4-9bde-64f2e5fa0b63
ORCID for Peter Griffiths: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-2439-2857

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Date deposited: 13 Dec 2022 17:44
Last modified: 24 Jan 2024 02:42

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Contributors

Contributor: Yuan-Sheng Ryan Poon
Contributor: Yongxing Patrick Lin
Contributor: Peter Griffiths ORCID iD
Contributor: Keng Kwang Yong
Contributor: Betsy Seah
Contributor: Sok Ying Liaw

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