Appropriate leadership in nursing home care: a narrative review

PURPOSE: The purpose of this paper is to synthesize the existing evidence on leadership that best matches nursing home care, with a focus on behaviors, effects and influencing factors. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: A narrative review was performed in three steps: the establishment of scope, systematic search in five databases and assessment and analysis of the literature identified. FINDINGS: A total of 44 articles were included in the review. The results of the study imply that a stronger focus on leadership behaviors related to the specific context rather than leadership styles could be of added value in nursing home care. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS: Only articles applicable to nursing home care were included. The definition of “nursing home care” may differ between countries. This study only focused on the academic literature. Future research should focus on strategies and methods for the translation of leadership into behavior in practice. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: A broader and more conceptual perspective on leadership in nursing homes – in which leadership is seen as an attribute of all employees and enacted in multiple layers of the organization – could support leadership practice. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: Leadership is considered an important element in the delivery of good quality nursing home care. This study provides insight into leadership behaviors and influencing contextual factors specifically in nursing homes.