RT journal article
T1 Worldwide prevalence of inadequate work ability among hospital nursing personnel: A systematic review and meta-analysis
A1 Romero Sánchez, José Manuel
A1 Porcel-Gálvez, Ana María
A1 Paloma Castro, Olga
A1 García-Jiménez, Jesús
A1 González-Domínguez, María Eugenia
A1 Palomar-Aumatell, Xavier
A1 Fernández-García, Elena
A2 Enfermería y Fisioterapia
K1 hospital
K1 meta-analysis
K1 nurses
K1 nursing assistants
K1 nursing staff
K1 work
K1 work ability
K1 work ability index
AB Purpose To estimate the worldwide pooled prevalence of inadequate work ability among hospital nursing personnel using the Work Ability Index (WAI). Design Systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods A systematic search was conducted on Medline/PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Scielo, PsychInfo, CINAHL, Nursing and Allied Health, LILACS, and Google Scholar from inception to July 2021 to identify observational studies on work ability among hospital nursing personnel using the WAI. Two researchers independently completed the study selection, quality assessments, and data extraction on the prevalence of inadequate work ability that was pooled using the random effects model. Finally, subgroup analyses were performed to explore sources of heterogeneity. Findings A total of 42 studies were included, consisting of 24,728 subjects worldwide from 14 countries. Of these, 35 studies were included in the meta-analytical analyses. The worldwide pooled prevalence of inadequate work ability among hospital nursing personnel was 24.7% (95% CI = 20.2%-29.4%). High levels of heterogeneity were detected in all studies. Prevalence was higher in studies where samples were composed of nurses and nursing assistive personnel (26.8%; 95% CI = 22.4%-31.5%) than in those of nurses alone (22.2%; 95% CI = 13.1%-32.9%) and in studies where the sample was over 40 (28.1%; 95% CI = 19.5%-37.5%) than in those with a sample under that age (22.4%; 95% CI = 15.8%-29.7%). Conclusions Almost one in four members of hospital nursing staff in the world has inadequate work ability and therefore are at risk of several negative outcomes during their working life. These prevalence data correspond to the pre-pandemic period, so new studies should also be especially useful in quantifying the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on work ability in the hospital nursing workforce. Clinical relevance The above findings justify the launch of initiatives that include annual assessment for the early identification of inadequate work ability, offering the possibility of anticipated corrective measures. Nursing workforce older than 40 years and those belonging to the professional category of nursing assistive personnel should be priority target groups for screening and intervention to improve work ability.
PB WILEY
SN 1527-6546
YR 2021
FD 2021-12
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/26262
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/26262
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 10-nov-2026