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A review of nursing workforce policies in five European countries: Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Portugal and United Kingdom */England
Author(s) -
ATTREE MOIRA,
FLINKMAN MERVI,
HOWLEY BREEDA,
LAKANMAA RIITTALIISA,
LIMABASTO MARTA,
UHRENFELDT LISBETH
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of nursing management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.925
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1365-2834
pISSN - 0966-0429
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2834.2011.01214.x
Subject(s) - workforce , nursing , health care , medicine , danish , sustainability , nursing management , business , political science , economic growth , ecology , linguistics , philosophy , law , economics , biology
attree m., flinkman m., howley b., lakanmaa r‐l., lima‐basto m. & Uhrenfeldt L. (2011) Journal of Nursing Management 19, 786–802
A review of nursing workforce policies in five European countries: Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Portugal and United Kingdom/England Aim Review nursing workforce policies in five European countries: Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Portugal and the United Kingdom *. Background Imbalances in registered nurse (RN) supply and demand is a global, significant and recurring issue that impacts on healthcare systems, organizations, staff and patients. Method Policy Review using resources located by a systematic search of relevant healthcare databases and policies in Danish, English, Finnish and Portuguese over the time period 2003–2007. Content analysis was used to identify themes and compare policies. Results Common nursing workforce policy themes were identified across the five countries: (1) improving retention through effective human resource management, improving the practice environment and nurses’ working lives and (2) improving recruitment through attracting more new recruits and RNs back to practice, and international recruitment. The present study also identified methodological issues relating to data quality and quantity. Lack of an agreed definition and standardized measures of nursing need and shortage makes comparison and evaluation of policy effectiveness and impact difficult. Implications for Nursing Management Healthcare systems and organizations need to identify and implement effective policies that promote the retention of RNs in the workforce, or risk threats to healthcare system sustainability, as well as patient care quality and safety.