{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]],"date-time":"2026-08-25T12:26:16Z","timestamp":1787660776894,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":63,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]],"date-time":"2026-08-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787616000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Health Serv."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Healthcare workers play a crucial role in providing life-saving care in high-pressure fast paced settings, where sustained alertness is critical. Adequate hydration is essential for their decision-making and timely delivery of treatment. Water intake is crucial for optimal cognitive, digestive, and cardiovascular function. The World Health Organization (WHO) emphasizes the importance of hydration in delivering quality healthcare. Therefore, this review aims to map the existing literature on healthcare workers\u2019 hydration status and its relationship with their work performance.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>In this scoping review, we conducted an electronic search in three databases- PubMed\/PubMed Central, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar. The search was carried out between March 2023 through September 2023.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Result<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      The scoping search identified 17,799 records, of which 15 met the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and were fully reviewed (\n                      <jats:italic>N<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u200915). The result shows that dehydration affects healthcare workers significantly, with 60% reporting reduced physical performance when dehydrated during shifts. Nearly half (53%) of studies document declines in cognitive pFerformance and mood. This mental strain increased with longer shift lengths, particularly among nurses on 12-h shifts and medical residents working more than 24\u2005h.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>There is a lack of adequate studies on healthcare workers\u2019 hydration health and its impact on performance, cognition, and mental well-being. Future research should be conducted in both cross-sectional and experimental methodologies, incorporating quantifiable measures to evaluate hydration and interventions. Countries with hot climate, such as, Saudi Arabia, should lead this research agenda, given that high temperatures could amplify the effects of inadequate hydration.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/frhs.2026.1778164","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]],"date-time":"2026-08-25T12:04:12Z","timestamp":1787659452000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Healthcare workers hydration status and performance: a scoping review"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"6","author":[{"given":"Omar B.","family":"Da\u2019ar","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Health Systems Management Department, College of Public Health and Health Informatics, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]},{"name":"King Abdullah International Medical Research Centre","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]},{"name":"Ministry of National Guard","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Razan","family":"Alhabeeb","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ministry of Health","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Farah","family":"Kalmey","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"King Abdullah International Medical Research Centre","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]},{"name":"Ministry of National Guard","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]},{"name":"College of Science and Health Professions, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"178","DOI":"10.1093\/bjaceaccp\/mkp036","article-title":"Intensive care unit environment","volume":"9","author":"Wenham","year":"2009","journal-title":"Contin Educ Anaesthesia Crit Care Pain"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"l528","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.l528","article-title":"Looking after ourselves at work: the importance of being hydrated and fed","volume":"364","author":"Brennan","year":"2019","journal-title":"Br Med J"},{"key":"B3","volume-title":"Rest, Rehydrate, Refuel","year":"2018"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"27","DOI":"10.1186\/1865-1380t-6-27","article-title":"Decreased hydration status of emergency department physicians and nurses by the end of their shift","volume":"6","author":"Alomar","year":"2013","journal-title":"Int J Emerg Med"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"935","DOI":"10.1016\/j.clnu.2015.07.007","article-title":"Hydration amongst nurses and doctors on-call (the HANDS on prospective cohort study)","volume":"35","author":"El-Sharkawy","year":"2016","journal-title":"Clin Nutr"},{"key":"B6","year":"2022"},{"key":"B7","year":"2021"},{"key":"B8","first-page":"171","article-title":"Burnout in healthcare workers: prevalence, impact and preventative strategies","volume-title":"Local and Regional Anesthesia","author":"De Hert","year":"2020"},{"key":"B9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"220","DOI":"10.1016\/j.smrv.2018.03.005","article-title":"Individual vulnerability to insomnia, excessive sleepiness and shift work disorder amongst healthcare shift workers. 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