Abstract
Intro: Patient care delivery is at risk when nurses experience unmanaged burnout (World Health Organization, 2019). Burnout affects approximately 30% of nurses worldwide (Ge et al., 2023) and 65% in the United States (Cross Country Healthcare, 2025). Researchers posit that burnout is primarily driven by systemic issues rather than individual deficiencies (Cao et al., 2025; O’Hara et al., 2024). Research on interventions to treat nurse burnout is abundant yet there is a gap regarding the translation of current evidence to practical recommendations.
Purpose: To (1) summarize existing systematic reviews on interventions addressing nurse burnout, and (2) translate this evidence into practical recommendations for nurse leaders.
Methods: An umbrella review followed Joanna Briggs Institute guidance and the PRISMA-ScR checklist. CINAHL, PubMed, and PsychInfo were searched from 2020 to present. Of 343 screened articles, 10 systematic reviews were included.
Results: The 10 eligible reviews together included 212 articles. The majority of interventions cited were individual-focused (~85%). These demonstrated some short-term effectiveness, but there was limited evidence regarding long-term benefit. Organizational-level interventions (~10%) and combined individual- and organizational-level strategies (~5%) showed stronger, potentially longer-term effects on reducing burnout than individual-focused interventions alone.
Recommendations: Nurse burnout stems from underlying systemic issues - not from individual nurse failings. Rather than addressing underlying organizational stressors, nurses are often expected to adapt to their environment. Recommendations for nurse leaders include: (1) recognize and address systemic issues; (2) implement individual-level interventions (e.g., mindfulness) with organizational-level interventions (e.g., shared decision making, leadership support); (3) assess the long-term effectiveness of this dual approach; and (4) engage in policy development to reform institutional practices and mitigate nurse burnout.
Conclusion: The majority of nurse burnout interventions rely on individual nurses to engage in burnout reduction strategies. However, this disregards system-level stressors that limit nurses' ability to manage stress. Nurse leaders should advocate for change using the practical recommendations presented. Doing so can safeguard against nurse burnout and promote effective patient care, organizational stability, and global healthcare delivery.
Notes
Extensive reference list included in attached slide deck.
Sigma Membership
Epsilon Sigma at-Large
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Workforce, Policy/Advocacy, Policy Making, Nurse Advocates, Burnout, Professional Burnout, Patient Care, Quality of Health Care
Recommended Citation
Shipp, Hannah Grace and Hall, Katherine Christine, "Interventions Targeting Nurse Burnout: A Review of Current Strategies with Future Recommendations" (2026). Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE). 70.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/chwe/2026/presentations_2026/70
Conference Name
Creating Healthy Work Environments
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Washington, DC, USA
Conference Year
2026
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. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-05-03
Interventions Targeting Nurse Burnout: A Review of Current Strategies with Future Recommendations
Washington, DC, USA
Intro: Patient care delivery is at risk when nurses experience unmanaged burnout (World Health Organization, 2019). Burnout affects approximately 30% of nurses worldwide (Ge et al., 2023) and 65% in the United States (Cross Country Healthcare, 2025). Researchers posit that burnout is primarily driven by systemic issues rather than individual deficiencies (Cao et al., 2025; O’Hara et al., 2024). Research on interventions to treat nurse burnout is abundant yet there is a gap regarding the translation of current evidence to practical recommendations.
Purpose: To (1) summarize existing systematic reviews on interventions addressing nurse burnout, and (2) translate this evidence into practical recommendations for nurse leaders.
Methods: An umbrella review followed Joanna Briggs Institute guidance and the PRISMA-ScR checklist. CINAHL, PubMed, and PsychInfo were searched from 2020 to present. Of 343 screened articles, 10 systematic reviews were included.
Results: The 10 eligible reviews together included 212 articles. The majority of interventions cited were individual-focused (~85%). These demonstrated some short-term effectiveness, but there was limited evidence regarding long-term benefit. Organizational-level interventions (~10%) and combined individual- and organizational-level strategies (~5%) showed stronger, potentially longer-term effects on reducing burnout than individual-focused interventions alone.
Recommendations: Nurse burnout stems from underlying systemic issues - not from individual nurse failings. Rather than addressing underlying organizational stressors, nurses are often expected to adapt to their environment. Recommendations for nurse leaders include: (1) recognize and address systemic issues; (2) implement individual-level interventions (e.g., mindfulness) with organizational-level interventions (e.g., shared decision making, leadership support); (3) assess the long-term effectiveness of this dual approach; and (4) engage in policy development to reform institutional practices and mitigate nurse burnout.
Conclusion: The majority of nurse burnout interventions rely on individual nurses to engage in burnout reduction strategies. However, this disregards system-level stressors that limit nurses' ability to manage stress. Nurse leaders should advocate for change using the practical recommendations presented. Doing so can safeguard against nurse burnout and promote effective patient care, organizational stability, and global healthcare delivery.
Description
Nurse burnout continues to be a persistent workforce issue despite extensive research on intervention strategies. This review summarizes current strategies and translates findings into practical recommendations for nurse leaders.