Samenvatting

Aim: To provide a synthesis of the evidence of health-promoting leadership related to nursing by exploring definitions, core attributes and critical conditions. Background: Increasing pressure in healthcare settings due to efficiency requirements, population ageing with complex illnesses and projected global shortage of nurses, is a potential threat to nurses’ health and job satisfaction, and patient quality of care and safety. New ways of thinking about nursing leadership and evidencebased human resource management are required to improve nursing environments. Conclusion: Health-promoting leadership may be a promising path to optimizing nursing outcomes through holistic thinking, which emphasizes the importance of context. Accumulated research is required to build a stronger line of international research, with attention to underlying mechanisms, limiting conditions and behaviours known to health-promoting leadership