Understanding co-worker relationships for promoting quality in care homes: protocol for a scoping review.

Background: The relationships care home staff have with their co-workers influence how they feel about their work and their job performance. In care homes collaborative co-worker relationships are consistently linked to positive outcomes and have been identified as a key feature of overcoming challenges posed by COVID-19. Research on co-worker relationships in care homes to date however, is largely descriptive and poses knowledge gaps relating to the process of how co-worker relationships occur, along with what influences them. This hinders the development of targeted, effective interventions. Co-worker relationships to promote quality in care homes therefore demands clarity of understanding. The aim of the scoping review is to understand what is known about co-worker relationships and its applicability to care homes. We will synthesise evidence about both co-worker relationships in broader health and social care settings, which will allow us to draw on theories and find interventions potentially useful for a care home context.Methods: A scoping review will be undertaken to understand co-worker relationships in health and social care settings and to determine the volume, scope and quality of research in this field. Our review methods will follow scoping review guidance We will then work with stakeholders to understand the relevance and applicability of the evidence base for people living and working in, or visiting, care homes and to establish a future research agenda.Conclusion: This review is important and timely. Findings will assist care home managers to consider how to promote and improve effective team working. It will also provide the foundations for informing future research aimed at improving co-worker relationships in care homes for the benefit of residents.