Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36153534›Full record

SynthesisHuman resources for health2022

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

Yuan-Sheng Ryan Poon, Yongxing Patrick Lin, Peter Griffiths, Keng Kwang Yong, Betsy Seah, Sok Ying Liaw

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Human resources for health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 181 papers, 15 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
181citing papers in PubMed, 15 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

181 citing papers in PubMed, 15 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  19. A Qualitative Needs Assessment for Pediatric Care Partnerships in Community Emergency Departments.Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians open · 2026
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121 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Yuan-Sheng Ryan PoonNursing Service, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore, Singapore.ORCID 0000-0003-4881-0275
Yongxing Patrick LinNursing Service, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore, Singapore.ORCID 0000-0002-1561-3307
Peter GriffithsNational Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration (Wessex), University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-2439-2857
Keng Kwang YongGroup Nursing, National Healthcare Group, Singapore, Singapore.
Betsy SeahAlice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore. nurseah@nus.edu.sg.ORCID 0000-0002-6048-2190
Sok Ying LiawAlice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.ORCID 0000-0002-8326-4049

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundGlobally, 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.

methodsA 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.

resultsForty-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.

conclusionsA 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.

Indexed as

COVID-19Health PersonnelHumansIntentionPandemicsPersonnel TurnoverCOVID-19 pandemicHealthcare workersTurnover intention

Identifiers

PMID36153534
PMCPMC9509627

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.