Work Package  1: A realist review of the literature 

Work package 1 will investigate what is already understood and known about the health workforce retention levels. First, we will review the research already published. We will look at what has been done to encourage staff to stay, what has worked, in what circumstances and why. This is called a Realist systematic review.  

The specific research question this work package is looking at is: 

• Of the many factors influencing healthcare staff retention already researched, what works for whom, in what circumstances?

The realist review will give us a fuller understanding of context and lessons learnt, rather than ‘does it work’, we will be able to understand the relationship between context and outcome. The outcome of the review will be a collection of theories to describe the contexts, mechanisms and actions associated with the retention or loss of mental health staff. This will inform work package two  (Analysing routine data) by identifying areas of staff experience to target in the analysis and work package three  (Organisational case studies) by providing a theory of what organisational issues affect whom, in what circumstances and what affects change in intention to leave.

The open access paper is available here https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/13/5/e070953.full 

Justine Karpusheff from the Health Foundation talks about the review and the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan https://www.health.org.uk/news-and-comment/blogs/what-one-research-synthesis-tells-us-is-missing-from-the-nhs-workforce-plan 

Find us on the Mental Elf https://x.com/Mental_Elf/status/1729764968831029621 

https://www.nationalelfservice.net/populations-and-settings/secondary-care/we-need-to-give-staff-a-say-to-make-sure-they-will-want-to-stay-what-a-realist-review-tells-us-is-missing-from-the-nhs-long-term-workforce-plan/ 

Long, J., Ohlsen, S., Senek, M., Booth, A., Weich, S., & Wood, E. (2023). Realist synthesis of factors affecting retention of staff in UK adult mental health services. BMJ Open, 13(5). doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2022-070953

Adams, R., Ryan, T., & Wood, E. (2021). Understanding the factors that affect retention within the mental health nursing workforce: a systematic review and thematic synthesis. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 30(6), 1476-1497. doi:10.1111/inm.12904

Foster, A., Wood, E., & Clowes, M. (2021). Identifying the evidence base of interventions supporting mental health nurses to cope with stressful working environments: a scoping review. Journal of Nursing Management, 29(6), 1639-1652. doi:10.1111/jonm.13312