Updating Factors Influencing Nurse Work Engagement in the Hospital Settings: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background Understanding the factors influencing work engagement among nurses is crucial for ensuring high-quality care and positive patient outcomes. Despite numerous factors associated with nurse work engagement, many were explored before the pandemic, potentially overlooking aspects relevant to the current context. Aim To explore and update factors related to nurse work engagement in the new normal era. Design Systematic review. Data Sources The search was restricted to articles published from 2019 to 2024 in CINAHL, PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, and ProQuest, with full English text. The search was conducted from September 13th to 15th, 2023. Quantitative research articles that examined factors related to work engagement were included. Review Methods Data extraction, quality appraisal, and data analysis were performed in all included studies. Manual content analysis method was used to classify and group the factors. Results Sixty-one research articles were included in the final review. Five key groups of factors were generated from content analysis, including 1) individual-related factors, 2) organizational-related factors, 3) job and role-related factors, 4) work-life balance, and 5) work environment. Conclusion Understanding and addressing these multifaceted factors holistically is essential to develop strategies to sustain optimal engagement levels among nursing staff and improve overall patient care outcomes. Further studies are needed to confirm the findings.