The relationship between individualized care and the practice environment: an international study

Area of Science:

• Nursing Science
• Healthcare Management
• Patient Care Quality

Background:

• Hospital practice environments significantly impact nurse and patient outcomes.
• While links exist between practice environments and individualized care, detailed investigations are limited.
• Existing evidence is primarily from single-country studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between nurses' perceptions of their professional practice environment and individualized care.
• To explore this relationship across seven diverse countries.

Main Methods:

• International, multisite, prospective, cross-sectional survey design.
• Involved 1163 nurses in acute orthopedic and trauma surgical inpatient wards across 34 hospitals in seven countries.
• Utilized self-administered questionnaires (Revised Professional Practice Environment and Individualized Care Scale-Nurse).

Main Results:

• Elements of the professional practice environment significantly predicted individualized care.
• Internal work motivation, cultural sensitivity, control over practice, teamwork, and nurse-physician relationships were key predictors.
• These factors influenced both the support for and delivery of individualized care.

Conclusions:

• Practice environment aspects explain variations in the individualization of nursing care.
• Individualized care extends beyond the nurse-patient dyad, influenced by the broader care environment.
• Developing the care environment is crucial for enhancing care quality and patient outcomes.