Abstract
Better, healthy work environments (HWEs) are associated with improved nurse outcomes (e.g., higher job satisfaction and retention) and patient outcomes (e.g., quality of care and patient satisfaction) (Brooks Carthon, 2021; Lake et al., 2019; Ulrich et al., 2019; Wei et al., 2018). However, creating HWEs can be challenging in both military and civilian health care settings. As part of the development of the Joint Professional Practice Model collaboration among nurses in the Army, Navy, and Air Force of the United States military, we aimed to identify evidence-based strategies to improve HWEs in a unique population of civilian and military nurses who work in military healthcare settings (Blinded for peer review, et al., 2022). Thus, we conducted a systematic literature review to develop recommendations for creating a HWE. The team utilized five databases to select articles including: PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, Joanna Briggs and Scopus. Two team members reviewed each article, and a third team member settled any disagreements to achieve consensus for inclusion of each article. A total of 110 articles were included in our review. Team members extracted data from each article to identify relevant opportunities for action in creating HWEs. We synthesized findings from the articles and developed 30 evidence-based recommendations to foster HWEs for nurses. Based on our review, implementation of these evidence-based recommendations could improve the work environments of nurses, leading to improvements in nurse and patient outcomes. We noted that most recommendations can be performed at the unit level, rather than the individual or system levels. Additionally, many of the recommendations pertain to leadership, illustrating just how important leaders are to creating a HWE. Nurse leaders can implement these recommendations to foster HWEs in their own organizations. Future research in this area should focus on longitudinal or pre- and post-test study designs after implementation of these recommendations to strengthen the body of knowledge supporting potential intervention strategies for establishing a HWE.
Sigma Membership
Non-member
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Systematic Review
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Health Work Environments, Military Healthcare Settings
Recommended Citation
Hodson, Patricia; Campbell, Caitlin; Foots, Lozay; Hamilton, Wendy; House, Sherita L.; Javed, Mariyam; Levenson, Jonathan David; McCarthy, Mary; Orina, Judy Ann; Patrician, Patricia; Robins, Katherine; Swiger, Pauline; and Williams, Kathy, "Recommendations for Creating a Healthy Work Environment: A Systematic Review" (2025). Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE). 10.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/chwe/2023/presentations_2023/10
Conference Name
Creating Healthy Work Environments
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Austin, Texas, USA and Virtual
Conference Year
2023
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2025-10-14
Recommendations for Creating a Healthy Work Environment: A Systematic Review
Austin, Texas, USA and Virtual
Better, healthy work environments (HWEs) are associated with improved nurse outcomes (e.g., higher job satisfaction and retention) and patient outcomes (e.g., quality of care and patient satisfaction) (Brooks Carthon, 2021; Lake et al., 2019; Ulrich et al., 2019; Wei et al., 2018). However, creating HWEs can be challenging in both military and civilian health care settings. As part of the development of the Joint Professional Practice Model collaboration among nurses in the Army, Navy, and Air Force of the United States military, we aimed to identify evidence-based strategies to improve HWEs in a unique population of civilian and military nurses who work in military healthcare settings (Blinded for peer review, et al., 2022). Thus, we conducted a systematic literature review to develop recommendations for creating a HWE. The team utilized five databases to select articles including: PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, Joanna Briggs and Scopus. Two team members reviewed each article, and a third team member settled any disagreements to achieve consensus for inclusion of each article. A total of 110 articles were included in our review. Team members extracted data from each article to identify relevant opportunities for action in creating HWEs. We synthesized findings from the articles and developed 30 evidence-based recommendations to foster HWEs for nurses. Based on our review, implementation of these evidence-based recommendations could improve the work environments of nurses, leading to improvements in nurse and patient outcomes. We noted that most recommendations can be performed at the unit level, rather than the individual or system levels. Additionally, many of the recommendations pertain to leadership, illustrating just how important leaders are to creating a HWE. Nurse leaders can implement these recommendations to foster HWEs in their own organizations. Future research in this area should focus on longitudinal or pre- and post-test study designs after implementation of these recommendations to strengthen the body of knowledge supporting potential intervention strategies for establishing a HWE.
Description
Summary: This presentation will share findings from a systematic review on healthy work environments to inform participants of actionable recommendations they can use to create and sustain an HWE in their own settings.