Psychological wellbeing of healthcare professionals in regional, rural and remote emergency departments: an integrative review
Abstract
Background: Healthcare professionals working in regional, rural, and remote emergency departments are at increased risk of psychological distress, burnout, and emotional exhaustion due to demanding work environments and ongoing workforce pressures. Poor psychological wellbeing contributes to reduced workforce retention and may compromise the delivery of safe, equitable emergency care. However, evidence regarding their psychological wellbeing in these settings remains fragmented and lacks comprehensive synthesis.
Methods: An integrative review of global evidence on the psychological wellbeing of healthcare professionals working in regional, rural, and remote emergency departments was undertaken, focusing on challenges, contributing factors, supports, and reported outcomes. Five electronic databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Embase, and Scopus) were systematically searched from inception to June 2025.
Results: Seventeen primary studies from ten countries met inclusion criteria and were appraised using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Findings revealed multifactorial stressors, including workplace violence, excessive workloads, professional isolation, inadequate leadership, moral distress, and limited access to training, with nurses and female staff most affected. Supports were clustered into four domains: education and professional development, peer and social support, organizational support, and individual coping strategies. Most supports were descriptively reported, with…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a systematic review, done in people. Its evidence level is 1 of 5 (Highest · pooled evidence). Pooled evidence from several studies sits at the top of the evidence pyramid.
Read the paper
Related studies
- The Matrisome: In Silico Definition and In Vivo Characterization by Proteomics of Normal and Tumor Extracellular Matrices
- The Escherichia coli MG1655 in silico metabolic genotype: Its definition, characteristics, and capabilities
- In silico pharmacology for drug discovery: methods for virtual ligand screening and profiling
- In silico prediction of splice-altering single nucleotide variants in the human genome
- In silico clinical trials: how computer simulation will transform the biomedical industry
- In silico optimization of a guava antimicrobial peptide enables combinatorial exploration for peptide design
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.