Towards a standardised definition of full-time culture and its organisational facilitators and barriers among nursing care staff within Norwegian health services: a Delphi study protocol

Introduction Part-time employment remains a persistent structural feature of Norway’s healthcare system, particularly in the provision of care during rotating work shifts. Despite longstanding political and institutional initiatives to promote full-time employment, a shared understanding of what constitutes a full-time culture and the organisational conditions that facilitate or hinder its development remains limited. This research aims to explore and establish expert consensus regarding the definition of a full-time work culture and the organisational facilitators of and barriers to developing and sustaining this culture among staff providing direct patient care and working in rotating work shifts within Norwegian healthcare services. Methods and analysis A three-round, asynchronous online Delphi study will be conducted using the Welphi platform. Participants include 20 people recruited nationally who have relevant professional or experiential expertise in healthcare workforce organisation, staffing, management, policy, research and clinical practice. The same expert panel will participate across the Delphi rounds, with 20 participants expected in Round 1 and subsequent rounds subject to participant retention. Round 1 consists of open-ended questions exploring the meaning, characteristics, facilitators of and barriers to full-time culture. Their responses will be analysed thematically and synthesised into domains and statements which will form the basis for Round 2. In Rounds 2 and 3, participants will rate and re-rate the statements using a 5-point Likert scale, with anonymised group feedback between the rounds. They will also have opportunities to comment on and suggest modifications or additional statements. Consensus is defined a priori as ≥80% agreement (ratings of 4 or 5) and a median rating of ≥4. Ethics and dissemination The study has been assessed by the Norwegian Agency for Shared Services in Education and Research (Sikt) (reference no. 710257). Participants will be asked to sign an electronic informed consent form before accessing the survey. Data management complies with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and institutional requirements. Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations and relevant professional networks and stakeholder-oriented reports.