Nurses’ perceptions of decent work: a scoping review

BACKGROUND: Against the backdrop of the UN's universal health coverage target (Sustainable Development Goal 3.8), increasing demand for healthcare services has created new challenges and requirements in the field of nursing. Perceptions of decent work among nurses are associated with improved quality of care. However, the current state of research is poorly understood as no reviews have been conducted. METHODS: We conducted a scoping review based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis Scoping Review guidelines. We searched Web of Science, Scopus, SpringerLink, ScienceDirect, and Ovid databases for relevant articles up to September 2025. RESULTS: A total of 1282 studies were initially retrieved, among which 20 met the inclusion criteria. The studies included cross-sectional studies and qualitative studies. This review found that nurses' perceptions of decent work were at a low to moderate level. In clinical nursing, decent work has been examined as an independent, mediating, and response variable, showing varying associations with the quality of nursing services. Moreover, perceptions of decent work vary across cultures, revealing an individual's position within the social structure. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the existing articles evidence, the improvement of decent working standards has a significant positive impact on the quality of nursing services. However, as most studies have adopted cross-sectional designs, future research should explore longitudinal designs to strengthen causal interpretations. Furthermore, future research should employ diverse and systematic methodological approaches to extend investigations of the relationship between decent work and job satisfaction (and its potential mechanisms), as one included study reported no significant association between the two variables.