Interprofessional Care Team, Staffing, and Setting Characteristics that Impact Patient Outcomes: A Review of Reviews

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundThe purpose of this study was to identify research methods and evidence pertaining to the relationship of interprofessional acute care teams and hospital characteristics on patient outcomes in hospital-based acute care.MethodsA review was completed using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines. The search strategy was executed across PubMed, CINAHL, and Embase. The review included 12 systematic reviews from 2012 to 2023 that examine the impact of acute care staffing characteristics on patient outcomes.ResultsWorkforce characteristics primarily focused on nurse staffing, with a limited number of studies assessing the impact of interprofessional teams or non-clinical workers on care quality. There is limited data describing the context of care delivery via potential relationships between hospital characteristics, interprofessional team staffing levels, and patient outcomes.ConclusionsTo promote comparability across studies, future workforce research should include a comprehensive analytic approach that includes clearly defined variables representing interprofessional care teams, community factors, and staffing and patient characteristics.