The Work Environment of Primary Health Care Nurses: An Integrative Review

Abstract

Introduction: Work activities incorporate physical, social, emotional, and technical elements. In a scenario of constant change, it is imperative to understand the current scientific knowledge on the structure and work conditions of nurses in primary health care (PHC). Objective: To identify, in the scientific literature, the aspects related to the work environment that influence the performance of nurses in PHC. Materials and Methods: This is an integrative literature review conducted in August 2023 in the Lilacs, Cinahl, Web of Science, Medline, Scopus, and Embase databases, following the Prisma 2020 Statement guidelines. The inclusion criteria were complete electronic articles, published in Portuguese, English, or Spanish between 2019 and 2023. This review used the ROBIS instrument to assess the risk of bias. Results: The search found 1,417 records in the databases, of which 20 were selected for the final sample. Of these, 30 % were from 2020 (n = 6), published in Portuguese, English, and Spanish. Brazil had the highest number of publications, with 55 % (n = 11), and qualitative studies represented 55 % (n = 11) of the methodological approaches. The following thematic categories emerged from the analysis: “psychological and emotional elements,” “human resources, materials, and infrastructure,” “interpersonal relationships,” “dissatisfaction,” “violence in the workplace,” and “overload.” Conclusion: The precarious environment in PHC has a negative impact on nurses and the care provided to the population. Improvements in infrastructure, personnel, and work conditions are essential to ensure quality care.