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IntroductionDebriefings give healthcare workers voice through the opportunity to discuss unanticipated or difficult events and recommend changes. The typical goal of routine debriefings has been to improve clinical outcomes by learning through discussion and reflection of events and then transferring that learning into clinical practice. However, little research has investigated the effects of debriefings on the emotional experiences and well-being of healthcare workers. There is some evidence that debriefings are a multi-faceted and cost-effective intervention for minimising negative health outcomes, but their use is inconsistent and they are infrequently adopted with the specific intention of giving healthcare workers a voice. The purpose of this systematic scoping review is therefore to assess the scope of existing evidence on debriefing practices for the well-being and emotional outcomes of healthcare workers.MethodsFollowing screening, 184 papers were synthesised through keyword mapping and exploratory trend identification.ResultsThe body of evidence reviewed were clustered geographically, but diverse on many other criteria of interest including the types of evidence produced, debriefing models and practices, and outcomes captured.DiscussionThe current review provides a clear map of our existing understanding and highlights the need for more systematic, collaborative and rigorous bodies of evidence to determine the potential of debriefing to support the emotional outcomes of those working within healthcare.Systematic Review Registrationhttps://osf.io/za6rj.

Debriefings (e.g., end of shift huddles) give healthcare workers voice through the opportunity to discuss unanticipated or difficult events, including patient deaths, and recommend changes. The main goal of debriefings has been to improve clinical outcomes by learning through discussion and reflection of events and then transferring that learning into clinical practice. Very little research though has investigated the effects of debriefings on the emotional experiences and well-being of healthcare workers. There is evidence that ‘emotional debriefings’ can reduce burnout and promote resilience (e.g., Osta et al., 2019) but they are not used widely nor are they adopted to give healthcare workers voice explicitly. Routine event debriefings provide voice to healthcare workers which can improve clinical outcomes but the current work is intended to explore the potential to positively influence their well-being and emotional outcomes. The aim of this review is to assess existing evidence about the effects of debriefing practices on the well-being and emotional outcomes of healthcare workers.