Maria João Carvalho

Mrs. Maria João Carvalho


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

2Years (2025-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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7 November 2025 in Nursing Reports
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
MIMafalda Inácio
Mafalda Inácio
MCMaria João Carvalho
Maria João Carvalho
APAna Paulino
Ana Paulino
PCPatrícia Costa
Patrícia Costa
Ana Rita FigueiredoAna Rita Figueiredo
Ana Rita Figueiredo
PLPedro Lucas
Pedro Lucas
Background: The nursing practice environment is a critical determinant of healthcare quality, patient safety, and nurse well-being. Military healthcare settings present unique challenges, including rigid hierarchical structures, deployment rotations, and resource constraints, which may significantly affect the nursing practice. This scoping review mapped the available scientific evidence on the nursing practice environment in military healthcare institutions and identified its influencing factors. Methods: Following JBI methodology, a scoping review was conducted according to the PCC framework: nurses (Population), the nursing practice environment (Concept), and military healthcare settings (Context). Papers in English, Portuguese, or Spanish were included without date restrictions. Searches were performed in 4 databases (September 2025) and data selections were conducted independently by two reviewers. Results: Eleven studies (2010–2025), mainly from the United States, met the inclusion criteria. Thematic analysis revealed three main components influencing the nursing practice environment: structural (leadership, professional development, staffing), relational (collaboration, conflict management), and outcome-related (well-being, retention, patient safety). Favourable environments were associated with higher satisfaction, retention, and reduced burnout. Conversely, unfavorable environments, often influenced by rank hierarchy, deployment rotations, and organizational rigidity, were linked to turnover intention, moral distress, and compromised patient outcomes. Conclusions: Evidence from the included studies indicates that adaptive leadership, interprofessional collaboration, professional development and staffing adequacy are recurrent factors associated with nurses’ satisfaction, retention, and perceived quality of care. Hierarchy structures, deployments, and mobility also appear to influence the specific characteristics of military nursing practice environments.

1 April 2026 in Nursing Reports
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
MIMafalda Inácio
Mafalda Inácio
MCMaria João Carvalho
Maria João Carvalho
APAna Paulino
Ana Paulino
PCPatrícia Costa
Patrícia Costa
Ana Rita FigueiredoAna Rita Figueiredo
Ana Rita Figueiredo
PLPedro Lucas
Pedro Lucas
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