Improving mental health of student and novice nurses to prevent dropout: A systematic review
Ellen Bakker, Jos H.A.M. Kox, Cécile R. L. Boot, Anneke L. Francke, Allard J. van der Beek, Pepijn D. D. M. Roelofs
Abstract
AIMS: To provide: (a) an overview of interventions aimed at improving mental health of student or novice nurses; and (b) an evaluation of their effectiveness on dropout-related outcomes. DESIGN: Systematic review. DATA SOURCES: Research papers published between January 1971-February 2019 were identified from the following databases: Embase, Medline, PsycInfo, CINAHL, ERIC, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. REVIEW METHODS: We followed the procedures recommended by the Editorial Board of the Cochrane Collaboration Back Review Group. We included peer-reviewed articles with a quantitative research design, examining interventions aimed at improving mental health of student and novice nurses and their effect on dropout-related outcomes. The large variation in studies prohibited statistical pooling and a synthesis without meta-analysis of studies was performed. RESULTS: We identified 21 studies with three areas of focus: managing stress or stressors (N = 4); facilitating the transition to nursing practice (N = 14); and a combined approach (N = 3). Five studies showed a statistically significant effect on dropout-related outcomes. The overall risk of bias was high. CONCLUSION: A wide range of interventions are available, but the evidence for their effectiveness is limited. There is a need for high-quality studies in this field, preferably with a randomized controlled design.