A Mixed-Methods Systematic Review of Interventions to Address Incivility in Nursing

Background: Incivility negatively affects patient safety, academic performance, and staff retention. This systematic review aimed to identify effective intervention strategies for addressing incivility in nursing education and practice. Method: Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for mixed-methods systematic reviews was used. Six databases were searched for incivility intervention studies with nurses or nursing students in academic or health care settings. Data from 39 studies were extracted and thematically synthesized. Results: Two intervention categories, educational and administrative, were identified and used to cluster six intervention strategy themes. Six outcome themes were synthesized to examine strategy effectiveness. Conclusion: Findings indicated strong support for multicomponent interventions that incorporate educational strategies of sharing information, skill application, and reflective processing of learning with both nursing students and practicing nurses. Minimal evidence exists on how to increase civility among nursing faculty or enhance faculty role-modeling and coaching for students. Addressing this gap may improve civility in the profession.