Work empowerment as experienced by nurses in elderly care

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Nursing Science
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Workplace empowerment is crucial for healthcare professionals, particularly in demanding fields like elderly care.
• Understanding the specific empowerment experiences of nurses in elderly care settings is essential for improving job satisfaction and retention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the levels and correlations of verbal, behavioral, and outcome empowerment among nurses in southern Finland's elderly care sector.
• To identify demographic factors, such as education and work experience, associated with nurse empowerment.

Main Methods:

• A questionnaire-based survey was administered to 252 nurses in southern Finland, yielding an 80.8% response rate.
• Statistical analysis was employed to examine demographic data and empowerment experiences, including correlations between different empowerment types.

Main Results:

• Nurses reported high levels of verbal and behavioral empowerment but lower levels of outcome empowerment.
• A significant positive correlation was found between all three dimensions of empowerment (verbal, behavioral, outcome).
• Higher education and greater work experience were significantly associated with increased behavioral empowerment.

Conclusions:

• While nurses in Finnish elderly care feel verbally and behaviorally empowered, outcome empowerment requires further attention.
• Interventions aimed at enhancing outcome empowerment could improve the overall work experience for nurses in this sector.
• The findings offer valuable insights for developing targeted strategies to bolster nurse empowerment in elderly care settings.