Psychological Consequences of Understaffing in Healthcare Systems: A Narrative Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12775/QS.2026.60.72904Keywords
understaffing, healthcare workers, burnout, occupational stress, mental health, narrative reviewAbstract
Background: Understaffing in healthcare occurs when the number of available workers is insufficient to meet patient care and organizational demands. Driven by population aging, chronic disease prevalence, workforce migration, inadequate planning, and the COVID-19 pandemic, staff shortages have become a major global challenge. Understaffing increases workload, time pressure, and emotional demands, raising the risk of serious psychological consequences affecting both worker well-being and quality of care.
Aim: The aim of this narrative review was to examine the psychological consequences of understaffing, analyze its impact on the mental health of healthcare professionals, and identify potential preventive strategies.
Material and Methods: A narrative review was conducted using the PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases. Peer-reviewed articles addressing the psychological outcomes of understaffing among healthcare workers were identified using predefined keywords, screened by title and abstract, reviewed in full text, and analyzed thematically.
Results: The literature consistently identified burnout—comprising emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment—as the most prominent psychological consequence of understaffing. Staff shortages were also linked to stress, anxiety, depression, sleep deprivation, moral distress, and compassion fatigue. At the system level, understaffing contributed to absenteeism, turnover intention, medical errors, lower quality of care, and patient dissatisfaction, creating a self-perpetuating cycle.
Conclusions: Understaffing is both an organizational and public health concern with serious psychological consequences for healthcare professionals. Effective staffing policies, organizational and leadership support, mental health services, resilience programs, and improved work-life balance are essential for protecting worker well-being and ensuring sustainable healthcare delivery.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Weronika Grzyb, Dominika Grzybowska, Michał Kurnik, Jakub Rzeszutek, Natalia Niderla, Natalia Rachwał, Adrian Kubicki, Kamil Idzik, Adrianna Jaślikowska
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