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Staff Nurses' Perceptions and Experiences about Structural Empowerment: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study.
Peter Van Bogaert1,2, Lieve Peremans1,3,4, Nadine Diltour1
1Nursing and Midwifery Sciences, Centre for Research and Innovation in Care, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
Plos One
|April 2, 2016
Summary
Staff nurses experience structural empowerment and desire involvement in patient care decisions. However, high work demands and limited awareness of empowerment’s impact can be barriers to safe quality patient care.
Area of Science:
- Nursing
- Healthcare Management
- Organizational Psychology
Background:
- Staff nurse involvement in decision-making is crucial for addressing complex patient needs.
- Interdisciplinary care settings require effective staff nurse participation.
- Organizational structures impact nurses' ability to contribute to patient care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate staff nurses' perceptions of structural empowerment.
- To explore staff nurses' experiences with structural empowerment.
- To determine how structural empowerment supports safe, quality patient care.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative study utilizing individual semi-structured interviews.
- 11 staff nurses from medical/surgical units at a Belgian university hospital participated.
- Interviews were conducted during a period of organizational transformation.
Main Results:
- Nurses reported experiencing structural empowerment and willingness to engage in patient care decision-making.
- Awareness of empowerment's effects on practice, care quality, and patient safety was limited.
- Ongoing organizational changes supported involvement, but hierarchical processes persisted for some decisions.
- High work demands and perceived additional burdens were barriers, while nurse managers and unit climate were facilitators.
Conclusions:
- Structural empowerment offers opportunities for staff nurses in daily practice.
- Nurse managers and positive unit climate are key to successful empowerment.
- Barriers such as time constraints and high work demands need to be addressed to fully leverage empowerment for safe, quality patient care.
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