Motivational strategies in nursing work: systematic literature review

Abstract

The demotivation in nursing work conditions leads nurses to perform their duties less productively and hinders the development of their potential and a satisfactory professional performance, with negative results in interpersonal relationships and in the provision of care to users and their families, with lower quality. Instituting motivational strategies in nursing work is a challenge for nurses in their professional practice, team leaders, managers and supervisors. Purpose: Synthesize the analysis of the scientific evidence of selected studies on motivational strategies in nursing work. Objectives: The general objective of this scientific Systematic Literature Review is to identify strategies that promote motivation in the context of nursing work. The specific objectives are: describe the scientific evidence available on the subject under study, clarify the concepts of motivation and satisfaction and summarize the decision-making process in the promotion of motivational strategies in nursing work. Method: The methodological strategy used was the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI). A research question was structured according to the PICo mnemonic, in Portuguese, English and Spanish, with the Boolean operator AND and the keywords were transcribed according to the Health Sciences Descriptors (DeCS). Data collection took place in May 2020 in the following databases: SciELO with Full Text from the Open Journal System (OJS) platform, IBECS with Full Text and LILACS with Full Text from the Virtual Health Library (BVS) platform. Sixty-five studies resulted and after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria and evaluating the methodological quality of the selected studies through critical evaluation, degrees of recommendation for practice and levels of evidence, six studies were considered eligible for the study. The methodological quality assessment was performed by two independent reviewers. Results: The results obtained in the selected studies indicate a multiplicity of factors that influence motivation: the quality of the work environment, the age of the nurse, the performance of functions in the public or private sector and the presence/absence of feelings of autonomy, recognition , accomplishment and professional development, motivational meetings, standardization of conducts and elaboration of care/intervention protocols, communication and feedback between collaborating nurses, managers and supervisors, the possibility of attending training courses, the availability of materials for the provision of care and the existence of facilitating/non-facilitating factors in the face of stressful situations with the relatives of end-of-life patients. Conclusion: The strategies that promote motivation in the context of nursing work are related to the policies of health organizations/institutions, the conduct of nurse managers and supervisors, interpersonal relationships in the nursing team, the construction of protocols, continuous training attendance, the care provided and the existence of a feeling of self-fulfillment.