Evaluation of nurses' innovative behaviors: a meta-analysis study

This study was conducted to evaluate the results of research on innovative behaviors of nurses by meta-analysis method. In the study, the systematic review methodology was followed and the PRISMA writing guide recommendations, a protocol used for systematic reviews and meta-analyses, were used in reporting. The keywords "innovative behavior", "innovative work behavior", "innovation/ innovativeness", "nurse" were searched using boolean operators in Turkish and English languages between 15.05.2023-15.07.2023 in designated databases accessed from YÖK National Thesis Center and Istanbul University- Cerrahpaşa Database Access and Statistics System in accordance with the database. Twelve studies (5802 nurses) that met the inclusion criteria were included in this study. The data were analyzed with the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis program. The significance of the effect size of each study was examined and it was determined that the effect sizes of all 12 studies were statistically significant. The total effect size of the 12 studies analyzed (d=3,770; 95% CI (3.57-3.97)) was found to be above the average. When the heterogeneity status of the studies used in the research was examined, a difference was found between the subjects measured according to the years of publication. In the meta-analysis conducted for the 12 studies, it was found that different numbers of male and female samples, different educational levels of nurses and different age groups did not significantly affect the effect size. In the analysis according to hospital size, it was determined that nurses' working in small-scale hospitals positively affected their innovative behaviors, while working in medium-scale hospitals negatively affected their innovative behaviors. It was seen that nurses' having different working years positively affected the effect size. However, while the effect of nurses with less than 10 years and 11-20 years of working years on innovative behaviors was at an equal level, the effect of nurses with 21 years or more of working years on innovative behaviors was higher. There were differences in the innovative behaviors of nurses according to the countries where the studies were conducted. The highest level of innovative behavior was found in nurses working in Australia, while the lowest level of innovative behavior was found in nurses working in the United States of America. In Turkey, the innovative behaviors of nurses were found to be above the average compared to other countries. As a result, it is thought that the findings obtained will help nurse and hospital managers and researchers interested in the subject to determine strategies for the development of innovative behaviors of nurses.