Workplace bullying and risk of burnout in nurses: a systematic review protocol

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this review is to assess the association between workplace bullying and nurse burnout.

Introduction: Internationally, workplace bullying has been linked to nurse burnout. Burnout is of significant concern due to its association with nurses' intent to quit, job dissatisfaction, reduced empathy and patient satisfaction. While there have been systematic reviews conducted on workplace bullying, none have explored its association with nurse burnout.

Inclusion criteria: This review will consider studies that include licensed nurses in any clinical setting in any country. Only studies in which the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised was used to measure licensed nurses' exposure to workplace bullying and in which the Maslach Burnout Inventory was used to measure burnout (i.e. the outcome of interest) will be considered. Prospective and retrospective cohort studies, case-control studies and analytical cross-sectional studies will be considered for inclusion.

Methods: Key information sources to be searched for studies in English from 1990 to the present include CINAHL, Embase, PsycINFO, PubMed and Scopus. Two independent reviewers will screen titles, abstracts and full texts of selected citations against the inclusion criteria and appraise for methodological quality. Two reviewers will independently use the standardized data extraction tool to extract data from studies used in the review. Studies will, where possible, be pooled in a statistical meta-analysis. Where statistical pooling is not possible, the findings will be presented in narrative form including tables and figures to aid in data presentation, where appropriate.

Systematic review registration number: PROSPERO CRD42019128798.