Humanitarian Love in Values-Based Practice and Health Professionals' Psychosocial Outcomes: Systematic Literature Review.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The current paper intends to focus on healthcare professional values, specifically on a scarcely referred to or mentioned value in the nursing literature of love, which is often crucial when it comes to genuine and humane interactions. Our aim was to investigate the role of humanitarian love and its psychosocial impact on health professionals, aiming to establish it as a core value in values-based practice.

METHODOLOGICAL DESIGN

We conducted a database search in Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PubMed Central, and Elsevier/Scopus, specifically targeting studies published in English up to 8 September 2024. Two independent reviewers conducted screening, data extraction, and bias assessment.

RESULTS

Sixteen articles met the inclusion criteria, comprising 2045 participants. We found that the literature on humanitarian love lacks a clear and consistent definition, often conflating it with concepts such as compassion, emotional support, and empathy. Humanitarian love involves helping others, alleviating suffering, and promoting growth. When healthcare professional's direct humanitarian love towards themselves, it fosters positive emotions, enhancing their ability to provide high-quality care and effectively support patient's needs. Additionally, humanitarian love towards patients helps reduce feelings of burnout, emotional exhaustion, and compassion fatigue among healthcare professionals.

STUDY LIMITATIONS

The number of qualifying studies was limited due to the scarcity of publications, and no randomised controlled trials were identified, which affects the assessment of efficacy. The inclusion of only 16 studies may restrict the review's conclusiveness. Additionally, the sample size and mean age of health professionals do not adequately represent all sectors, and some studies were of moderate quality. Heterogeneity among the studies and the absence of a meta-analysis further complicate the findings.

CONCLUSIONS

Humanitarian love has the potential to enhance healthcare professionals' psychosocial well-being, emphasising its role as a core value in values-based practice.