Promotion of the quality of life of workers in a higher education institution: a scope review

Abstract

The present study aimed to map the evidence to provide an overview of actions implemented/executed and scales used in public higher education institutions to promote worker health. A scoping review based on the PCC (Population, Concept, and Context) mnemonic was conducted in PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus and Virtual Health Library (VHL). Population included workers from a higher education institution, the concept referred to studies focusing on the assessment of quality of life and health promotion actions and the context to higher education institutions. Electronic searches were held on December 2019. A qualitative synthesis of the data extracted from included studies (i.e. author, year, study design, sample, country, aims, action implemented/performed, thematic focus, evaluation) was performed. Electronic searches retrieved 3,330 articles that were screened by tittles and abstracts. Of these, 34 studies were fully appraised, of which four reported that actions implemented/executed related to sedentariness, posture and stress. The studies show 49 scales were identified to measuring at least one quality of life item. Through this scoping review the available evidence to provide an overview of actions implemented/executed and scales used in public higher education institutions to promote worker health. Future studies should consider more rigorous designs and objective measures to measure the quality of life of these professionals, and develop target interventions based on factors associated with the work. It is also necessary to evaluate whether the strategies work.