Nursing Practice Environments in Hospitals: A Comparative Study between Portugal and Brazil

Area of Science:

• Nursing Practice Environments
• Healthcare Quality Improvement
• International Healthcare Comparisons

Background:

• Effective nursing practice environments are vital for improving nurse, patient, and organizational outcomes.
• International comparisons of nursing practice environments aid in developing universal guidelines.
• This study focuses on evaluating and comparing nursing practice environments in Portuguese and Brazilian hospitals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate and compare the nursing practice environments in hospitals across Portugal and Brazil.
• To identify specific differences in the Structure, Process, and Outcome components of nursing practice between the two countries.
• To provide data for enhancing nursing practice environments and healthcare system sustainability.

Main Methods:

• A multicenter, cross-sectional study involving 582 nurses from eight hospitals in Portugal and eight in Brazil.
• Utilized the Scale for the Environments Evaluation of Professional Nursing Practice survey to collect data.
• Employed comparative analyses to examine sociodemographic, professional, and practice environment attributes between the two countries.

Main Results:

• Nurses in Brazil reported favorable Structure, Process, and Outcome components.
• Nurses in Portugal found Structure and Outcome components favorable, and the Process component very favorable.
• Significant differences were observed: Brazil scored higher in Structure and Outcome, while Portugal scored higher in Process.

Conclusions:

• Urgent investment in continuous training and a culture of evaluation is necessary for ongoing improvement.
• Enhancing nurse involvement and participation can foster more sustainable healthcare systems.
• Findings provide a basis for targeted interventions to optimize nursing practice environments in both nations.