Barriers in adopting health‐promoting behaviours among nurses: A qualitative systematic review and meta‐synthesis
Abstract
AIMS: Nursing is a highly stressful occupation where irregular shifts and working overtime lead to unhealthy behaviours. This qualitative systematic review and meta-synthesis aims to examine nurses' barriers in adopting health-promoting behaviours. METHODS: Six electronic databases were searched from their respective inception dates to October 2021: EMBASE, Web of Science, PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. The Critical Appraisal Skills Program checklist was used to appraise the quality of included studies. Data synthesis followed Sandelowski's and Barroso's two-step approach. RESULTS: Fourteen studies were included in this review, and three themes were generated as follows: (1) work environment and workplace culture, (2) nature of the job and (3) intrinsic factors. CONCLUSION: This review synthesized available evidence on the barriers nurses experienced while adopting health-promoting behaviours. Health-care institutions should target these factors when providing facilities and services to support nurses in adopting health-promoting behaviours. Policies should focus on workplace health promotion by advocating for healthy lifestyle policies. Future research should be conducted in more multicultural and geographically diverse regions to obtain a more global view of nurses' barriers to adopt health-promoting behaviours.
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Previous studies reported that job stress was an obstacle to health-promoting behaviors, such as healthy eating habits, through a literature review of nurses.
“This is similar to previous studies reporting that job stress was an obstacle to health-promoting behaviors, such as healthy eating habits, through a literature review of nurses [7,9].”
The culture of the units where nurses work was reported to influence health-promoting behavior.
“The culture of the units where nurses work was reported to influence health-promoting behavior [7]”
Previous studies showed that health-promoting behaviors decreased when there was a lack of dining facilities in medical institutions or when it was difficult to access healthy food for financial or time reasons.
“This is different from the results of previous studies, which showed that health-promoting behaviors decreased when there was a lack of dining facilities in medical institutions or when it was difficult to access healthy food [7] for financial or time reasons [8].”
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Choi, M. J., Kim, S., & Jeong, S. H. (2024) · Asian Nursing Research · doi:10.1016/j.anr.2024.04.007 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
- Authors
- Chong, K. E., & Shorey, S.
- Affiliations
- National University of Singapore (SG)
- Corresponding author
- Shorey, Shefaly
- ORCID
- Shorey, Shefaly
- Venue
- International Journal of Nursing Practice
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2021-12-07
- Volume
- 28
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- e13030-e13030
- ISSN
- 1322-7114 (ISSN-L)
- 1440-172X
- OpenAlex
- W4200213740
- Cited by
- 19
- References
- 43
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 3
- FWCI
- 0.52
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Update notices
- correction (2025-04-21)
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- International Journal of Nursing Practice (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health and Wellbeing Research
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Research and Theory › Nursing education and management
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Speech and Hearing › School Health and Nursing Education
- Keywords
- nurses, health-promoting behaviours, barriers to behavior change, workplace health promotion, work environment, organizational culture, occupational stress, shift work, nurse well-being
- MeSH terms
- Delivery of Health Care, Health Promotion, Humans, Workplace, Qualitative Research
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