Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38093376›Full record

ReviewHuman resources for health2023

Professional care workforce: a rapid review of evidence supporting methods of recruitment, retention, safety, and education.

Meg E Morris, Natasha K Brusco, Rachael McAleer, Stephen Billett, Lisa Brophy, Rosemary Bryant, Leeanne Carey, Amy Conley Wright, Christine East, Marion Eckert and 16 more

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Human resources for health, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
17citing papers in PubMed
–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

17 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Human Resource Management, Complementarity and Hospital Performance: Evidence From the English NHS.The International journal of health planning and management · 2026
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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

26 authors.

Meg E MorrisThe Victorian Rehabilitation Centre, Academic and Research Collaborative in Health (ARCH), and CERI, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, 3083, Australia.
Natasha K BruscoLa Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, 3086, Australia. natasha.brusco@monash.edu.ORCID 0000-0002-8825-5109
Rachael McAleerLa Trobe Rural Health School, La Trobe University, Bendigo, 3550, Australia.
Stephen BillettGriffith University, Mount Gravatt, QLD, 4121, Australia.
Lisa BrophyLa Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, 3086, Australia.
Rosemary BryantAO Research Centre, University of South Australia, Adelaide, 5001, Australia.
Leeanne CareyLa Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, 3086, Australia.
Amy Conley WrightSydney University, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.
Christine EastLa Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, 3086, Australia.
Marion EckertRosemary Bryant AO Research Centre, University of South Australia, Adelaide, 5001, Australia.
Kristina EdvardssonLa Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, 3086, Australia.
Deirdre FetherstonhaughLa Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, 3086, Australia.
Sally Fowler-DavisCentre for Health and Care Research, Collegiate Crescent, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, S1 1WB, UK.
Margarita FredericoLa Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, 3086, Australia.
Richard GrayLa Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, 3086, Australia.
Doug McCaskieAlfred Health, 55 Commercial Road, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia.
Carol McKinstryLa Trobe Rural Health School, La Trobe University, Bendigo, 3550, Australia.
Rebecca MitchellMacquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, 2109, Australia.
Brian OldenburgLa Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, 3086, Australia.
Nora ShieldsLa Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, 3086, Australia.
Karen SmithSilver Chain, Bourke Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia.
Evelien SpeltenLa Trobe Rural Health School, La Trobe University, Bendigo, 3550, Australia.
Nicholas TaylorEastern Health Academic and Research Collaborative in Health (ARCH), La Trobe University, Bundoora, 3086, Australia.
Claire ThwaitesThe Victorian Rehabilitation Centre and Academic and Research Collaborative in Health (ARCH) La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, 3083, Australia.
Suzanne YoungLa Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, 3086, Australia.
Irene BlackberryCERI, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, 3083, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAcross the care economy there are major shortages in the health and care workforce, as well as high rates of attrition and ill-defined career pathways. The aim of this study was to evaluate current evidence regarding methods to improve care worker recruitment, retention, safety, and education, for the professional care workforce.

methodsA rapid review of comparative interventions designed to recruit, retain, educate and care for the professional workforce in the following sectors: disability, aged care, health, mental health, family and youth services, and early childhood education and care was conducted. Embase and MEDLINE databases were searched, and studies published between January 2015 and November 2022 were included. We used the Quality Assessment tool for Quantitative Studies and the PEDro tools to evaluate study quality.

results5594 articles were initially screened and after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 30 studies were included in the rapid review. Studies most frequently reported on the professional nursing, medical and allied health workforces. Some studies focused on the single domain of care worker education (n = 11) while most focused on multiple domains that combined education with recruitment strategies, retention strategies or a focus on worker safety. Study quality was comparatively low with a median PEDro score of 5/10, and 77% received a weak rating on the Quality Assessment tool for Quantitative Studies. Four new workforce strategies emerged; early career rural recruitment supports rural retention; workload management is essential for workforce well-being; learning must be contextually relevant; and there is a need to differentiate recruitment, retention, and education strategies for different professional health and care workforce categories as needs vary.

conclusionsGiven the critical importance of recruiting and retaining a strong health and care workforce, there is an immediate need to develop a cohesive strategy to address workforce shortfalls. This paper presents initial evidence on different interventions to address this need, and to inform care workforce recruitment and retention. Rapid Review registration PROSPERO 2022 CRD42022371721 Available from: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42022371721.

Indexed as

LearningRural Health ServicesAdolescentAgedAllied Health PersonnelChild, PreschoolHumansMental HealthWorkforceWorkloadCare economyCare workerEducational activitiesHuman resourcesMedicineNursingSafetyTraining programsWorkforceWorkforce redesign

Identifiers

PMID38093376
PMCPMC10720209

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.