{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,2]],"date-time":"2026-07-02T12:43:33Z","timestamp":1782996213883,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"BMJ","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,2]],"date-time":"2026-07-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782950400000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":1,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Works Council of Maastricht University Medical Centre+","award":["Not applicable"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["Not applicable"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["BMJ Open"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,18]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,7]]},"abstract":"\n Objectives<\/jats:title>\n This scoping review synthesises peer-reviewed and grey literature on supported access to medical care for hospital employees with existing physical health complaints to understand how it may reduce sickness absenteeism by promoting sustainable employability and to identify gaps and opportunities to inform the design and implementation of organisational supported care frameworks.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Design<\/jats:title>\n \n We conducted this scoping review following the Arksey and O\u2019Malley framework and Levac\n et al<\/jats:italic>\n \u2019s methodological recommendations, reported in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extensions for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR).\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Data sources<\/jats:title>\n \n MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase (Elsevier), CINAHL (EBSCO) and Web of Science were searched from database inception to 8 November 2024. The search was updated on 18 May 2026. This was supplemented by forward and backward citation tracking of included peer-reviewed articles and targeted hand searching of Dutch grey literature in\n Medisch Contact<\/jats:italic>\n ,<\/jats:underline>\n a leading Dutch professional journal for the medical profession, focusing on clinical practice, medical policy and professional issues.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Eligibility<\/jats:title>\n English-language or Dutch-language peer-reviewed publications and well-argued opinion pieces on healthcare workers\u2019 access to care (COVID-19 and beyond) in hospital or transferable settings were included. Sources focused on mental health or health promotion, financial aspects, personal protective equipment, patient access or healthcare worker utilisation, as well as non-English\/Dutch sources, webpages and papers without full text, were excluded.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Data extraction<\/jats:title>\n ASReview was used for title and abstract screening following the SAFE procedure and full-text screening was conducted with team consensus.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n 27 publications were included from 36\u2009685 identified records. The literature was predominantly qualitative in nature and COVID-19-focused, yielding four themes (ethical considerations, multilevel challenges, target groups and strategies and outcomes). It also highlighted limited evidence on evaluated supported-access interventions and workforce outcomes beyond crises.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n Although supported access to medical care for hospital employees appears a promising multilevel, system-embedded strategy to reduce sickness absenteeism and promote sustainable employability in general, the evidence to substantiate and justify such strategies beyond acute crises is limited. Moreover, current literature lacks clear conceptualisation, operationalisation as well as robust implementation and evaluation frameworks. Addressing these gaps is a priority for future research to scientifically scaffold policies and frameworks to sustain a healthy and stable future hospital workforce.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen-2026-117423","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,2]],"date-time":"2026-07-02T11:43:52Z","timestamp":1782992632000},"page":"e117423","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Workforce shortages and supported access to medical care for hospital employees: a scoping review"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-9312-2221","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Vera","family":"Beulen","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Academy of Postgraduate Medical Education, Maastricht University Medical Centre+, Maastricht, Netherlands"},{"name":"School of Health Professions Education, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences (FHML), Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Cindy","family":"Noben","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Academy of Postgraduate Medical Education, Maastricht University Medical Centre+, Maastricht, Netherlands"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Martijn","family":"Smits","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Urology, Maastricht University Medical Centre+, Maastricht, Netherlands"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Helen","family":"Mertens","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Executive Board, Maastricht University Medical Centre+, Maastricht, Netherlands"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Aggie","family":"Paulus","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Health Professions Education, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences (FHML), Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands"},{"name":"Department of Health Services Research, Faculty of Health, Care and Public Health Research Institute (CAPHRI), Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences (FHML), Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2398-8878","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Walther","family":"Van Mook","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Academy of Postgraduate Medical Education, Maastricht University Medical Centre+, Maastricht, Netherlands"},{"name":"School of Health Professions Education, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences (FHML), Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands"},{"name":"Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Centre+, Maastricht, Netherlands"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,2]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026070204403097000_16.7.e117423.1","unstructured":"World Health Organization . 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