Determining the Innovativeness of Nurses Who Engage in Activities That Encourage Innovative Behaviors

Area of Science:

• Nursing Science
• Healthcare Innovation
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Understanding nurse innovativeness is crucial for advancing healthcare practices.
• Identifying characteristics associated with nurse innovation can inform targeted interventions.
• This study explored nurse innovativeness and its correlates.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare innovativeness scores among nurses.
• To examine differences between nurses who self-identify as innovators and those who do not.
• To quantify characteristics associated with nurses' ability to innovate in practice.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional survey was conducted with US nurses engaged in innovative behaviors.
• Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to identify correlates of innovative behavior.
• Innovativeness was measured using a standardized scoring system.

Main Results:

• Nurses identifying as innovators reported higher innovativeness scores (121.3 vs. 112.9, p<0.001).
• Innovators showed greater exposure to Human-Centered Design/Design Thinking (HCD/DT) workshops (55.8% vs. 36.6%, p=0.02).
• EFA identified four factors: risk aversion, willingness to try new things, creativity, and being challenged.

Conclusions:

• Nurses who perceive themselves as innovators demonstrate higher levels of innovativeness.
• Both individual traits and organizational factors are significantly associated with nurse innovativeness.
• Findings suggest opportunities to foster innovation through targeted support and training.