Sustainability Research Highlights Importance of Healthcare Workers' Employability for Quality of Care

Strategic Insights -

A recent study conducted by researchers at the Erasmus University Medical Center has shed light on the significant relationship between healthcare workers' (HCWs) sustainable employability (SE) and quality of care (QoC). The research, published in BMJ Open, aimed to integrate existing reviews on the topic and examine the connection between HCWs' SE and QoC outcomes. The study's findings have significant implications for healthcare practitioners and policymakers seeking to improve the quality of care.

Key Takeaways:

  • The research found that there is a wealth of reviews investigating the relations between HCW variables and QoC outcomes, but these reviews often focus on one aspect relevant to HCWs' functioning at work, contributing to a scattered body of evidence.
  • The study used the concept of sustainable employability, a multidimensional construct that captures an individual's long-term ability to function adequately at work and in the labor market, to integrate existing reviews and examine the relationship between HCWs' SE and QoC.
  • An umbrella review of systematic reviews was conducted, including 55 high-quality reviews that explored the relation between SE indicators and QoC outcomes. The research identified 6 SE indicators linked to 19 QoC outcome categories, distinguishing a total of 50 unique relations.
  • The study found that while extensive evidence exists, it is disproportionately represented, with reviews on 'burn-out' and 'lack of knowledge/skills' being over-represented and well-established.
  • The research concluded that HCWs' SE is crucial for QoC, and practitioners may use this overview to consider interventions that target multiple indicators of HCWs' SE.

Statistics:

  • 55 high-quality reviews were included in the study.
  • 6 SE indicators linked to 19 QoC outcome categories were identified.
  • 50 unique relations (positive, negative, partial, absent, or mixed) were distinguished.
  • 4 reviews covered multiple SE domains simultaneously.
  • The study found that while extensive evidence exists, it is disproportionately represented, with reviews on 'burn-out' and 'lack of knowledge/skills' being over-represented (26 and 25 reviews, respectively).

Sources:

  • Healthcare workers' sustainable employability in relation to quality of care: an umbrella review. BMJ Open, 2025, 15(9). (BMJ Open - http://bmjopen.bmj.com/.)
  • NewsRx. New Sustainability Research Research from Erasmus University Medical Center Discussed (Healthcare workers' sustainable employability in relation to quality of care: an umbrella review). Health & Medicine Week. September 26, 2025; p 4076.