Determinants of happiness among healthcare professionals between 2009 and 2019: a systematic review

Abstract

Happiness is characterized by experiencing positive emotions while simultaneously perceiving one's life as meaningful and worthwhile. Research on the mental health of healthcare professionals usually focuses on psychopathology as opposed to the positive aspects of mental health. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine recent literature on individual level and organization-level determinants of healthcare professionals happiness. The EBSCOhost, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were searched for articles published between 2009 and 2019 that focused on happiness among healthcare professionals. Based on the eligibility criteria, both quantitative and qualitative studies were selected for this systematic review. The final review included a total of 18 studies. The main measures of healthcare professionals happiness in cross-sectional and intervention studies were self report measures, and the main measures of happiness in qualitative studies were interviews. Multiple determinants of healthcare professionals happiness were identified in this systematic review. The interplay between individual-level and organization-level determinants collectively contributes to the happiness of healthcare professionals. Existing evidence highlights the importance of healthcare professionals happiness in the strengthening of the healthcare workforce and healthcare systems. This review also highlights the importance of health policy makers, health authorities and healthcare professionals in creating and effectively implementing policies and strategies to increase healthcare professionals happiness. Future similar studies should use large and more heterogeneous samples of healthcare professionals from various settings to generate contextually relevant and robust evidence regarding methods to enhance healthcare professionals happiness and ultimately the performance of health systems globally.