Perceptions and experiences of nurses involved in quality-improvement processes in acute healthcare facilities: a qualitative systematic review protocol

Objective: The objective of this review is to understand the perceptions of nurses working in acute healthcare environments in relation to quality-improvement processes. Introduction: Quality improvement requirements and processes are firmly embedded in contemporary healthcare practice; however, the evidence is unclear on the extent to which nurses are engaged across the continuum of quality improvement. Nurses are required to consult these processes, but clinical nurses in particular may have limited input into the planning and implementation of quality improvement. Inclusion criteria: The population to be reviewed is nurses working in acute healthcare settings. The phenomena of interest is the perceptions and experiences of these nurses in relation to quality-improvement processes. Methods: A defined search strategy will be used. PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, and SCOPUS will be searched. Informit, MedNar, and ProQuest will be searched to identify gray literature. The search will be limited to studies published in English. No date limits will be set. After screening the titles and abstracts of identified citations, potentially relevant studies will be retrieved in full. The review will be conducted following the JBI methodology for qualitative evidence. The JBI process of meta-aggregation will be used to identify categories and synthesize findings. The ConQual approach will be used to assess confidence in the findings. Synthesis of the data will be presented in a table with accompanying narrative.