Determinants of faculty development processes and outcomes among novice and early-career health professions faculty: an integrative review

Faculty development is an important strategy for supporting teaching effectiveness, educational leadership, scholarly activity, and professional growth among health professions educators. However, evidence on factors associated with successful faculty development remains dispersed across empirical studies, evidence syntheses, and conceptual publications. Moreover, the extent to which existing evidence specifically addresses novice and early-career faculty remains uncertain. To synthesize evidence on factors associated with faculty development processes and outcomes among novice and early-career health professions faculty. An integrative review was conducted using the methodology described by Whittemore and Knafl and reported in accordance with PRISMA 2020. PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science Core Collection, Embase, ERIC, and CINAHL Complete were searched from inception to March 2026, alongside supplementary grey literature searches. Searches were conducted on 12 October 2026. Eligible publications included empirical studies, reviews, evidence syntheses, program evaluations, and conceptual papers relevant to the review question. Fifteen publications were included. Methodological appraisal was undertaken using the relevant Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal checklist and the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT 2018), as appropriate to publication type and study design, with findings interpreted in light of the appraisal results. Extracted data were synthesized thematically and organized into five domains: individual, interpersonal, program-related, organizational, and contextual factors. The search identified 26,455 records, of which 6,997 underwent title and abstract screening. Following full-text assessment, 15 publications were included in the review. The synthesis identified five domains of factors reported in relation to faculty development. Individual factors included motivation, self-efficacy, and reflective practice; interpersonal factors included mentoring, peer support, networking, and communities of practice; program-related factors included longitudinal approaches, experiential and workplace-based learning, and feedback; organizational factors included leadership support, protected time, recognition of educational contributions, and access to resources; and contextual factors included organizational culture, infrastructure, local adaptation, and policy environments. Professional identity formation emerged as a relevant cross-cutting concept, but the available evidence did not establish it as an explanatory mechanism linking faculty development activities to subsequent outcomes. Much of the evidence was derived from broader faculty populations rather than studies focused specifically on novice and early-career faculty. Faculty development processes and outcomes are associated with factors operating at individual, interpersonal, program-related, organizational, and contextual levels. The findings highlight the potential relevance of mentoring, sustained learning opportunities, and institutional support when designing faculty development initiatives. However, the indirectness and heterogeneity of the available evidence limit conclusions specific to novice and early-career faculty. Further research focused explicitly on these populations is needed to clarify the roles of individual factors and institutional conditions and to examine how they relate to faculty development outcomes.