Nursing leadership styles and their impact on intensive care unit quality measures: An integrative review

Abstract

Aim: To examine the impact of nursing leadership styles on intensive care unit quality measures.

Background: Evidence on the impact of leadership styles has direct implications for building and strengthening leadership behaviours that foster quality nursing care in intensive care units.

Evaluation: An integrative review approach was adopted. Databases including the Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PubMed, Scopus, ProQuest, Google Scholar and the Cochrane Library were searched.

Key issues(s): Out of 253 identified studies, seven were included in the review. Leadership styles in intensive care units include transformational, considerate, exemplary, trusted and absentee leadership. Active nurse leaders who share a common vision, and advocate for their staff are perceived as more effective than those who exhibit absentee characteristics. Structural measures influenced by leadership styles include productivity and morale of nursing staff. Outcome measures such as staff outcomes (intent to stay, job satisfaction), medication errors and periventricular/intraventricular haemorrhage in neonatal intensive care units have a positive relational effect with nursing leadership style.

Conclusions: The findings highlight the link between nursing leadership styles on structural and outcome measures in intensive care units. The current literature lacks studies highlighting the impact of nursing leadership styles on process measures in intensive care units.

Implications for nursing management: Transformational, considerate, exemplary leadership practices, and trusted leadership styles when used by nurse leaders guarantee higher quality of nursing care in intensive care units. Therefore, modern leadership styles need to be supported by health care organisations and education.

Keywords: intensive care units; leadership styles; nursing; nursing management; quality measures.