Competences of nurse managers in primary health care and hospital services in the context of local health units: A scoping review protocol

Abstract

Introduction: This article is a protocol of a scoping review that pretends to examine the role of nurse managers in the context of a newly-evolved organizational structure, with a particular focus on their perceptions, emotions, actions and capacity to transition between different levels of care within a local health unit.

Objective: To map and characterize the specific contents by competencies of nurse managers in primary health care and hospital services in health local units.

Methodology: This scoping review represents the initial phase of a larger, mixed-methods, cross-sectional investigation into the competencies of nurse managers at the two levels of care in Health Local Systems: primary health care and hospital care. The search will encompass terms such as "nurse managers," "leadership," "health management," and "local health units," with searches conducted in databases including PubMed and Scopus. Qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods studies will be considered for inclusion. Two reviewers will select the studies based on the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology, and the extracted data will be subjected to descriptive analysis and categorized into main themes.

Conclusion: This research has the potential to make a substantial contribution to the understanding and improvement of healthcare management in integrated settings. The findings will be of benefit not only to nurse managers, but also to users and the healthcare system as a whole.