Restorative Justice Approaches to Conflict Management in Healthcare Workplaces: A Systematic Review Protocol

BackgroundHealthcare workplaces experience significant interpersonal conflicts affecting staff wellbeing, patient safety, and organizational performance. Traditional punitive approaches to conflict management often fail to address underlying issues, potentially perpetuating cycles of dysfunction. Restorative justice, emphasizing healing, accountability, and relationship repair over punishment, offers promising alternatives for healthcare conflict resolution. Despite growing implementation, systematic evidence synthesis regarding effectiveness, implementation factors, and outcomes remains absent. ObjectivesThis systematic review protocol aims to synthesize evidence on restorative justice approaches for managing workplace conflicts in healthcare settings, examining implementation processes, effectiveness, barriers, facilitators, and impacts on staff wellbeing, patient care, and organizational culture. MethodsFollowing PRISMA-P guidelines, we will search ten databases (PubMed, MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, Business Source Premier, Cochrane Library, and ProQuest) from inception to December 2025. The SPIDER framework guides eligibility criteria focusing on healthcare workers involved in restorative justice interventions, their experiences and outcomes across diverse healthcare contexts. Covidence will facilitate study screening and selection. Quality assessment will employ the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT), with risk of bias evaluated using appropriate domain-specific tools. Narrative synthesis and thematic analysis will integrate quantitative and qualitative findings. GRADE-CERQual will assess confidence in qualitative evidence synthesis. DiscussionThis protocol anticipates generating comprehensive evidence regarding restorative justice implementation models, effectiveness indicators, contextual factors influencing success, stakeholder experiences, and comparative advantages over traditional approaches. Evidence generated will inform policy development, implementation guidelines, and training programs for healthcare organizations seeking transformative conflict resolution approaches that prioritize healing, learning, and relationship restoration over punitive measures.