Nurses' perceived work-related empowerment in Lithuanian context.

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Healthcare Management
• Organizational Psychology

Background:

• Perceived empowerment among nurses is a widely studied concept globally.
• However, research on the empowerment of Lithuanian nurses and their specific experiences is lacking.
• Understanding nurses' views on empowerment is crucial for improving nursing practice and job satisfaction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the level of work-related empowerment experienced by Lithuanian nurses.
• To explore the relationship between background factors and nurses' empowerment.
• To provide insights into the perception of empowerment within the Lithuanian nursing workforce.

Main Methods:

• A quantitative study utilizing a structured questionnaire, including background questions and the Work Empowerment Questionnaire (verbal, behavioral, outcome empowerment).
• Data collected from 212 participants and analyzed using SPSS and Microsoft Excel.
• Statistical methods included descriptive statistics, non-parametric tests, and Spearman correlations.

Main Results:

• Nurses reported a high level of general empowerment (mean 7.9/10.0).
• Higher confidence was observed in behavioral (mean 8.3) and verbal (mean 8.0) empowerment compared to outcome empowerment (mean 7.3).
• All aspects of empowerment were significantly interrelated (p ≤ 0.001), with notable associations found between empowerment and background variables.

Conclusions:

• The study highlights strong perceived empowerment among Lithuanian nurses.
• The findings suggest that educational and managerial support are vital for fostering empowerment in nursing roles.
• Consideration of cultural and contextual factors is essential when adapting international empowerment assessment tools for the Baltic region.