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Measuring Council Health to Transform Shared Governance Processes and Practice
Robert G Hess1, Jennifer I Bonamer, Diana Swihart
1Author Affiliations: CEO and Founder (Dr Hess), Forum for Shared Governance, Hobe Sound, Florida; Research Specialist (Dr Bonamer), Sarasota Memorial Health Care System, Sarasota, Florida; Nurse Coordinator, Patient Safety Information Systems (Dr Swihart), VHA National Center for Patient Safety, Durham, North Carolina; and Senior Director of Research, Education, and Magnet (Dr Brull), Mercy Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland.
Objective:
The aim of this study was to develop a valid, reliable instrument to measure the effectiveness of shared governance councils BACKGROUND: The work of shared governance, that is, the decisions, takes place in its structures, notably, the councils. A literature search yielded no formal instrument for evaluating how these councils function.
Methods:
A 4-phase process was used to generate valid items to measure shared governance council effectiveness, including content validity by experts, a pilot for feasibility, a larger pilot for internal consistency, and an exploratory factor analysis to delineate a final instrument.
Results:
More than a dozen experts and participants from nearly 30 healthcare organizations contributed to the final development of the 25-item Council Health Survey instrument. Items for measuring council effectiveness at either the unit or division level were grouped in areas of structure, activities, and membership.
Conclusions:
When evaluating shared governance, nurses should focus on councils themselves, in which much of the work of shared governance occurs.
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