Interprofessional Use and Validation of the AACN Healthy Work Environment Assessment Tool

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Nursing Research
• Organizational Psychology

Background:

• Healthcare work environments significantly impact patient outcomes, staff retention, and financial performance.
• The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) developed the Healthy Work Environment Assessment Tool (HWEAT) to evaluate and improve healthcare settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To validate the interprofessional application of the AACN HWEAT within a large children's hospital setting.
• To assess the reliability and validity of the HWEAT for diverse healthcare professionals.

Main Methods:

• The AACN HWEAT was distributed to various staff members, with responses averaged for overall and standard-specific scores.
• Reliability was assessed using test-retest methods and internal consistency (Cronbach's α).
• Construct validity was determined by correlating HWEAT scores with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (H-SOPS).

Main Results:

• A response rate of 39.3% (1030/2621) was achieved for the HWEAT.
• The overall HWEAT mean score was 3.58, with significant differences between physicians (3.87) and nurses (3.54).
• Reliability was confirmed (Spearman's ρ: 0.50–0.68; Cronbach's α: 0.77–0.81), and convergent validity was supported (correlation coefficients: 0.30–0.52).

Conclusions:

• The AACN HWEAT demonstrates strong reliability and validity, supporting its use as an organizational assessment tool across professions.
• Continuous evaluation of healthcare work environments is essential for optimizing patient care and organizational success.