Social support in health workers: an integrative review

Abstract

Objective: To search for evidence available in the scientific literature regarding factors associated with social support to health workers. Methods: This is an integrative literature review, conducted between November 2021 and January 2022, in the LILACS, BDENF, MEDLINE and CINAHL databases. The following descriptors were used: social support, health workers, health personnel and occupational stress. The eligibility criteria for studies were: articles related to the theme with abstracts available in full in English, Spanish or Portuguese. Results: A total of 25 studies were selected, of which 60% were national articles and 16% were international. The level of evidence of the included articles was classified as 4. The search for evidence allowed us to identify aspects associated with low social support such as insufficient remuneration, excessive demands, work overload and exposure to stress, among others. As for the high social support, it promotes attitudes about evidence-based practices; lower probability of anxiety, greater chance of life satisfaction at work; recognition of the work held by professionals, among others. Final considerations: Accordingly, the existing gap on the theme of social support was unveiled, thus supporting the development of a research project that aims at understanding the social support of health workers and its relationship with other psychosocial constructs.