Organisational factors associated with healthcare workforce development, recruitment, and retention in the United Kingdom: a systematic review

AimsTo synthesise evidence regarding organisational practice environment factors affecting healthcare workforce development, recruitment, and retention in the UK.Methods/data sourcesA systematic search of PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and PsycINFO yielded ten relevant studies published between 2018 and 2023 and conducted in the UK (the last search was conducted in March 2023). Adhering to The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, two independent reviewers conducted screening, sifting, and data extraction, applying the quality assessment tool for risk of bias.ResultsResults highlight key factors associated with staff intention to leave/turnover/retention: workplace challenges, aggression, moral distress, on-the-job embeddedness, leadership involvement, organisational support, and flexible shift patterns. Notably, aggression from colleagues, including clinical staff but not interdisciplinary personnel, has a more detrimental impact on staff intention to leave than aggression from patients.ConclusionThe complex and context-dependent impacts of these organisational factors on the UK healthcare workforce underscore the need for tailored interventions. The review acknowledges limitations, including bias from excluding qualitative studies, a small pool of included studies, and nurse overrepresentation. What is already knownSecurement and retainment issues affect different aspects of health and care services. Moreover, healthcare workforce shortages persist in the UK.What this paper addsOur findings on the importance of workplace challenges and aggression, moral distress, on-the-job-embeddedness, leadership, flexible shift pattern, and organisational support in staff retention are important to addressing the current UK healthcare workforce crisis.Implications for practice/policyThe findings of this review are important to healthcare commissioners, policymakers, and stakeholders, offering valuable insights for dealing with factors contributing to shortages in the healthcare workforce and enhancing staff satisfaction and retention.