The impact of supportive supervision of nurses on access to healthcare in Sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review

Abstract

Abstract Supportive supervision of nurses including access to healthcare is a global health concern predominantly in the Sub- Saharan countries. For improvement of access to healthcare, the nurses should receive supportive supervision in their working environment. Hence the current study aimed at systematically reviewing literature regarding the impact of supportive supervision of nurses on access to healthcare. Methods: We searched for articles that were written in English from 2013 to 2023. Medline, PubMed, Science Direct, SA ePublication, Ebscohost, Scopus, Google Scholar, and Web of Science were data bases used for searching of articles. The instrument used to report the identified studies was the PRISMA checklist. Eleven questions appearing on the critical appraisal checklist for Joanna Briggs Institute was applied for quality assessment of studies that were meeting the criteria for review. Results: A total of 274 articles were retrieved and data was extracted from 10 articles that passed legibility criteria. Factors related to the positive impact of supportive supervision of nurses on access to health care emerged. factors related to the negative impact of supportive supervision of nurses on access to health care is also discovered. Conclusions: Improved work performance is evident on nurses receiving supportive supervision thus leading to improved access to healthcare. Poor access to healthcare services resulted because of unsupportive supervision and dictatorial leadership style.