Burnout interventions for UK healthcare workers: a systematic literature review

Purpose
Growing concerns about burnout among healthcare workers (HCW) has been met with a surge in development and evaluation of preventative interventions. This systematic literature review aims to examine the current burnout interventions provided to HCW in the United Kingdom, with a particular focus in identifying the different strategies used and to assess their effectiveness.

Design/methodology/approach
Research databases (CINAHL, Psycinfo and Pubmed) were screened for peer-reviewed research published between 2011 and 2024. Fifteen studies of mixed research designs were retained and evaluated using the Joanna Briggs Institute Checklist for Case Reports.

Findings
Most studies demonstrated good methodological rigour, with most studies adopting an experimental design, though only a few used randomised controlled trials with control groups. Qualitative synthesis of the results identified two core themes of interventions: meditation-based interventions and skill acquisition training. The majority of the interventions incorporated multiple different burnout prevention strategies and almost all interventions demonstrated a positive impact in reducing burnout symptoms.

Research limitations/implications
Recommendations from the synthesis of the evidence promote the combined use of occupation-specific skills training, self-awareness activities and the use of multiple preventative strategies. Future research should endeavour to study the longer impact of burnout interventions (i.e. beyond 8 months) and adopt randomised control trial designs.

Practical implications
The study recommends that interventions are shortened to accommodate to workload of HCW and the use of relevant clinical skills training alongside burnout interventions. Future research should seek to examine the efficacy of interventions using more robust experimental designs for longer durations (i.e. follow-up testing).

Originality/value
Owing to the growing burnout risks amongst UK HCW, various interventions utilising different psychological approaches to prevent burnout have been implemented. The current review carried out a rigorous review of contemporary interventions that have been used to reduce burnout among healthcare workers to identify what works, what the key challenges are and what directions are needed by practitioners and academic in reducing burnout within healthcare professions.