INTERVENTIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF NURSING LEADERSHIP: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract

Leadership and nursing remain themes of extreme relevance and interest for those carrying research in the field of Social Sciences. The importance of understanding this process of social influence, in terms of organizational management, is related to the interest in finding leadership practices that allow creating effective, desirable, and emotionally gratifying work cultures. This systematic review aims to identify and characterize the research carried in the last decade (2009 – 2019) regarding interventions promoting the development of leadership in nursing. Resorting to five research platforms, the following keywords were used: ‘leadership’, ‘intervention or program or development’, ‘nurse or nurses or nursing’. Search results yielded 402 papers, of which 26 were selected after applying inclusion and exclusion criteria. A predominance of interventions where reflective practices promote leadership was found. However, social learning is equally present as a supplementary process, though less prevalent. The reduced number of studies eligible for this review emphasizes the need for additional research aiming to further the knowledge about the best practices to develop leadership in nursing.