General practice workforce retention strategies: an umbrella review.

Abstract

We summarise international evidence of interventions to support retention of the general practice workforce, mapping evidence by country, method and workforce group. Umbrella overview of reviews. We mapped evidence according to occupational group, intervention type and outcome to identify trends and gaps. Varied study designs were included, though only reviews with evaluations of workforce interventions were included. Exploratory studies describing factors associated with retention were excluded. International primary care and general practice. General practice workforce, with studies grouped by general practitioners, nurses working in general practice and mixed health professional groups. Workforce retention, including length of employment, stability rates, settlement rates, vacancy rates, unfilled positions, turnover numbers or rates, attrition rates, intentions to stay, leave and return. Of the 4,919 articles identified through database searching (Medline, Embase, PsycInfo and Medrxiv 6th February 2025) and citation tracking, we included five reviews. The majority of evidence was concentrated in Australia and the US and there was a lack of policy evaluations in some fields. While stronger evidence exists for interventions such as professional development and fostering supportive environments, mixed findings were reported on financial incentives and limited formal evaluations were found for some intervention types, and professional groups. This overview of research underscores the need for more research evaluating interventions to support the general practice workforce, particularly across wider international settings.