Structural empowerment and burnout among Portuguese nursing staff: An explicative model

Area of Science:

• Nursing Science
• Organizational Psychology

Background:

• Empowerment enhances nursing satisfaction and performance, potentially preventing burnout.
• The link between structural empowerment and burnout is under-researched in Portugal.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate Kanter's structural empowerment model in a Portuguese nursing sample.
• To assess the influence of access to opportunities, resources, information, and support on burnout via global empowerment.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional correlational study with 297 nursing participants.
• Structural equation modeling (path analysis) used for mediation and model fit.

Main Results:

• Access to opportunities and support directly reduced burnout through global empowerment.
• Access to resources demonstrated both direct and indirect effects on burnout.

Conclusions:

• The structural empowerment model is validated for Portuguese nursing staff.
• Professional training, support networks, and resource availability are key to increasing empowerment and reducing burnout.