Abstract:
Job satisfaction and retention of healthcare staff remains an ongoing
issue in many health systems. Huddles have been endorsed as a mechanism
to improve patient safety by improving teamwork, collaboration, and
communication in teams. This study synthesizes the literature to
investigate the impact of huddles on job satisfaction, teamwork, and
work engagement in multidisciplinary healthcare teams.
Five academic databases were searched to conduct a systematic review of
peer-reviewed literature published from January 2000 – January 2020.
Articles were included if they (1) featured a daily huddle, were
conducted in a healthcare setting, and involved a multidisciplinary team
and (2) measured variables including job satisfaction, work engagement,
or teamwork. Results were reported in accordance with the Systematic
Synthesis Without Meta-analysis (SWiM) and Preferred Reporting Items for
Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines.
We identified 445 articles of which 12 met the eligibility criteria and
are included in this review. All 12 studies found a predominantly
positive impact on teamwork and job satisfaction. None of the studies
discussed or reported evidence of the impact of huddles on work
engagement.
This review highlights the value of a daily multidisciplinary healthcare
team huddle in improving job satisfaction and teamwork for the
healthcare staff involved. However, there is a dearth of high-quality,
peer-reviewed evidence regarding the direct impact of huddles on job
satisfaction, teamwork and in particular on work engagement. Further
research – particularly controlled studies on adoption, implementation,
and outcomes for healthcare team culture – is needed to further assess
this intervention.