Emergency department workforces' experiences and perceptions of well-being from an international perspective: a scoping review

Objectives: To identify and present the available evidence regarding workforce well-being in the emergency department.

Design: Scoping review.

Setting: The emergency department (ED).

Data sources: CINAHL, MEDLINE, APA PsycINFO and Web of Science were searched with no publication time parameters. The reference lists of articles selected for full-text review were also screened for additional papers.

Eligibility criteria for study selection: All peer-reviewed, empirical papers were included if: (1) participants included staff-based full-time in the ED, (2) ED workforce well-being was a key component of the research, (3) English language was available and (4) the main focus was not burnout or other mental illness-related variables.

Results: The search identified 6109 papers and 34 papers were included in the review. Most papers used a quantitative or mixed methods survey design, with very limited evidence using in-depth qualitative methods to explore ED workforce well-being. Interventions accounted for 41% of reviewed studies. Findings highlighted pressing issues with ED workforce well-being, contributed to by a range of interpersonal, organisational and individual challenges (eg, high workloads, lack of support). However, the limited evidence base, tenuous conceptualisations and links to well-being in existing literature mean that the findings were neither consistent nor conclusive.

Conclusions: This scoping review highlights the need for more high-quality research to be conducted, particularly using qualitative methods and the development of a working definition of ED workforce well-being.