Relationships between organizational and individual support, nurses’ ethical competence, ethical safety, and work satisfaction
Background: Organizations and nurse leaders do not always effectively support nurses’ ethical competence. More information is needed about nurses’ perceptions of this support and relevant factors to improve it. Purpose: The aim of the study was to examine relationships between nurses’ perceived organizational and individual support, ethical competence, ethical safety, and work satisfaction. Methodology: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted. Questionnaires were distributed to nurses (n = 298) working in specialized, primary, or private health care in Finland. Descriptive statistics, multifactor analysis of variance, and linear regression analysis were used to test the relationships. Results: The nurses reported low organizational and individual support for their ethical competence, whereas perceptions of their ethical competence, ethical safety, and work satisfaction were moderate. There were statistically significant positive correlations between both perceived individual and organizational support, and ethical competence, nurses’ work satisfaction, and nurses’ ethical safety. Conclusions: Organizational and individual support for nurses’ ethical competence should be strengthened, at least in Finland, by providing more ethics education and addressing ethical problems in multiprofessional discussions. Findings confirm that organizational level support for ethical competence improves nurses’ work satisfaction. They also show that individual level support improves nurses’ sense of ethical safety, and both organizational and individual support strengthen nurses’ ethical competence. Practice Implications: These findings should assist nurse leaders to implement effective support practices to strengthen nurses’ ethical competence, ethical safety, and work satisfaction.

Rethinking Critical Advancements: Taking Stock and Moving Forward Conceptually No abstract available

Hospitals’ adoption of medical device registers: Evidence from the German Arthroplasty Register Background: Hospitals in many countries do not record and analyze artificial hip and knee joint surgeries systematically, leading to a lack of reliable quality assurance data. Arthroplasty registers have the potential to alleviate this and improve quality of care and health care expenditures. In Germany, the current introduction of the Arthroplasty Register acts as a prototype for various medical device registers. However, participation is voluntary for hospitals in most countries, leading to problems with nonadoption. Purpose: Implementing successful registers requires adoption by most relevant hospitals. Therefore, we assess variables influencing medical device register adoption. Methodology: We collect longitudinal data from 343 hospitals that are potential adopters of the German Arthroplasty Register in two surveys. The first survey on the implementation process is conducted in 2014; the second survey is conducted in 2016 to collect data on actual adoption of the surveyed hospitals in 2014. The survey data are matched with published hospital characteristics and administrative data. The hypotheses are tested with a mediated regression model, using partial least squares structural equation modeling. Findings: Hospital specialization positively affects adoption, directly and indirectly, depending on top management support and user involvement. Quality benefits and hospital size impact adoption positively; economic benefits impact adoption negatively. Conclusion: Important factors influencing adoption of medical device registers for the first time were revealed in this study, providing a starting point to influence adoption proactively and avoid nonadoption. Practice Implications: The results provide important guidelines for decision-makers at hospitals, registers, and health insurance companies and policy makers about how to foster register adoption and encourage hospitals toward adopting medical device registers.

Impact of relational coordination on staff and patient outcomes in outpatient surgical clinics Background: Pressures are increasing for clinicians to provide high-quality, efficient care, leading to increased concerns about staff burnout. Purpose: This study asks whether staff well-being can be achieved in ways that are also beneficial for the patient’s experience of care. It explores whether relational coordination can contribute to both staff well-being and patient satisfaction in outpatient surgical clinics where time constraints paired with high needs for information transfer increase both the need for and the challenge of achieving timely and accurate communication. Methodology/Approach: We studied relational coordination among surgeons, nurses, residents, administrators, technicians, and secretaries in 11 outpatient surgical clinics. Data were combined from a staff and a patient survey to conduct a cross-sectional study. Data were analyzed using ordinary least squares and random effects regression models. Results: Relational coordination among all workgroups was significantly associated with staff outcomes, including job satisfaction, work engagement, and burnout. Relational coordination was also significantly associated with patients’ satisfaction with staff and their overall visit, though the association between relational coordination and patients’ satisfaction with their providers did not reach statistical significance. Practice Implications: Even when patient–staff interactions are relatively brief, as in outpatient settings, high levels of relational coordination among interdependent workgroups contribute to positive outcomes for both staff and patients, and low levels tend to have the opposite effect. Clinical leaders can increase the expectation of positive outcomes for both staff and their patients by implementing interventions to strengthen relational coordination.

Magnetic work environments: Patient experience outcomes in Magnet versus non-Magnet hospitals Background: The term Magnet hospital is an official designation ascribed by the American Nurses Credentialing Center for hospitals that meet specific criteria indicating they have a “magnetic work environment” for nurses. The objective of the Magnet designation is to encourage hospitals to design work in such a way as to attract and retain high-quality nurses and thus improve the quality of patient care. Empirical research has demonstrated that hospitals who earn a Magnet designation appear to have nurses who are more satisfied and committed to their work environments. Although research on whether patients are more satisfied with their care in these hospitals is still in its infancy, preliminary studies suggest that patients receiving care at Magnet-designated hospitals report more positive care experiences. Purpose: This study used a large secondary survey data set to explore the extent to which inpatient perceptions differed between Magnet and non-Magnet hospitals. Methodology: Ordinal logistic and multinomial logistic regression analyses were used to examine whether Magnet hospital status and positive nurse communication are related to overall hospital rating and willingness of patients to recommend the hospital. Results: Results indicated that patients treated at a Magnet hospital and patients who rated nurses’ communication highly were significantly more satisfied and more likely to say they would recommend the hospital. Conclusions: Evidence from this study suggests that it would be worthwhile for hospital leaders to consider organizational policies and practices consistent with the criteria put forth for Magnet hospital designation.

Soft Factors, Smooth Transport? The role of safety climate and team processes in reducing adverse events during intrahospital transport in intensive care Background: Intrahospital patient transports (IHTs) in intensive care involve an appreciable risk of adverse events (AEs). Research on determinants of AE occurrence during IHT has hitherto focused on patient, transport, and intensive care unit (ICU) characteristics. By contrast, the role of “soft” factors, although arguably relevant for IHTs and a topic of interest in general health care settings, has not yet been explored. Purpose: The study aims at examining the effect of safety climate and team processes on the occurrence of AE during IHT and whether team processes mediate the effect of safety climate. Methodology/Approach: Data stem from a noninterventional, observational multicenter study in 33 ICUs (from 12 European countries), with 858 transports overall recorded during 28 days. AEs include medication errors, dislodgments, equipment failures, and delays. Safety climate scales were taken from the “Patient Safety Climate in Healthcare Organizations” (short version), team processes scales from the “Leiden Operating Theatre and Intensive Care Safety” questionnaire. Patient condition was assessed with NEMS (Nine Equivalents of Nursing Manpower Use Score). All other variables could be directly observed. Hypothesis testing and assessment of effects rely on bivariate correlations and binomial logistic multilevel models (with ICU as random effect). Findings: Both safety climate and team processes are comparatively important determinants of AE occurrence, also when controlling for transport-, staff-, and ICU-related variables. Team processes partially mediate the effect of safety climate. Patient condition and transport duration are consistently related with AE occurrence, too. Practice Implications: Unlike most patient, transport, and ICU characteristics, safety climate and team processes are basically amenable to managerial interventions. Coupled with their considerable effect on AE occurrence, this makes pertinent endeavors a potentially promising approach for improving patient safety during IHT. Although literature suggests that safety climate is slow and hard to change (also compared to team processes), efforts to improve safety climate should not be forgone.

The effects of emotional intelligence training on the job performance of Australian aged care workers Background: Emotional intelligence (EI) training is popular among human resource practitioners, but there is limited evidence of the impact of such training on health care workers. Purpose: In the current article, we examine the effects of EI training on quality of resident care and worker well-being and psychological empowerment in an Australian aged care facility. We use Bar-On’s (1997) conceptualization of EI. Methodology/Approach: We used a quasiexperimental design in 2014–2015 with experimental (training) and control (nontraining) groups of 60 participants in each group in two geographically separate facilities. Our final poststudy sample size was 27 participants for the training group and 17 participants for the control group. Over a 6-month period, we examined whether staff improved their well-being, psychological empowerment, and job performance measured as enhanced quality of care (self-rated and client-rated) by applying skills in EI. Results: The results showed significant improvement among workers in the training group for EI scores, quality of care, general well-being, and psychological empowerment. There were no significant differences for the control group. Practice Implications: Through examining the impact of EI training on staff and residents of an aged care facility, we demonstrate the benefits of EI training for higher quality of care delivery. This study demonstrates the practical process through which EI training can improve the work experiences of aged care workers, as well as the quality of care for residents.

Retaining nurses in a changing health care environment: The role of job embeddedness and self-efficacy Background: Because nurses are on the front lines of care delivery, they are subject to frequent changes to their work practices. This change-laden environment puts nurses at higher risk for turnover. Given the frequent disruption to the way nurses perform their jobs, change-related self-efficacy (CSE), or confidence that one can handle change, may be vital to their retention. Purpose: The purpose of this article is to examine the roles of CSE and job embeddedness in reducing turnover intentions among nurses. Specifically, this article tests a model in which CSE is the intervening mechanism through which job embeddedness influences turnover intentions. Methods: Drawing on a sample of 207 nurses working in the medical/surgical unit of a major metropolitan hospital in the United States, this study employs OLS regression to test for direct effects of job embeddedness and CSE on turnover intentions and bias-corrected bootstrapping to test for the indirect effects of job embeddedness on turnover intentions through CSE. Findings: Results show that CSE is directly linked to turnover intentions, and the effects of job embeddedness on turnover intentions become fully manifest through CSE. Practice Implications: Improved nurse retention may lead to stable patient care and less disruption in service delivery. Improved retention also benefits health care organizations financially, as costs of replacing a nurse can exceed 100% of the salary for the position. Given the shortage of nurses in some geographic areas, retention remains an important goal.

Barriers and facilitators to intraorganizational collaboration in public health: Relational coordination across public health services targeting individuals and populations Background: Modern public health emphasizes population-focused services, which may require collaborative work both across and within organizations. Studies have explored interorganizational collaborations, but there are little data regarding collaborations within public health organizations. Purpose: We measured intraorganizational collaboration and identified barriers and facilitators to collaboration within a large public health department through a mixed-methods study. Methodology/Approach: Our study occurred at the Maricopa County (Arizona) Department of Public Health, the third largest local public health jurisdiction in the United States. To measure collaboration, we surveyed staff using the relational coordination tool. To identify barriers and facilitators to collaboration, we performed key informant interviews with department personnel. Results: Relational coordination scores varied according to the focus of the service; clinical services had significantly lower levels of relational coordination than population-focused services (p < .01). We found high levels of mutual respect and lower levels of shared knowledge across services. Facilitators to collaboration included purposive cross-program meetings around specific topics, the organization’s structure and culture, and individuals’ social identities. Barriers included raised expectations for collaboration, low slack resources, member’s self-interest, and trust. Conclusion: The relational coordination of services varied significantly according to the focus of the service. Population-focused public health services had higher levels of relational coordination than individually focused services. Collaboration was facilitated and impeded by both well-known and potentially emergent factors, such as purposive cross-service meetings and organizational culture. Practice Implications: Population-focused services possessed higher levels of collaboration than individually focused services. Intraorganizational collaboration for improved population health relies on deliberate support from senior management and structured activities to increase shared knowledge and mutual respect.

Strategy and risk sharing in hospital–postacute care integration Issue/Trend: Postacute care has been identified as a primary area for cost containment. The continued shift of payment structures from volume to value has often put hospitals at the forefront of addressing postacute care cost containment. However, hospitals continue to struggle with models to manage patients in postacute care institutions, such as skilled nursing facilities or in home health agencies. Recent research has identified postacute care network development as one mechanism to improve outcomes for patients sent to postacute care providers. Many hospitals, though, have not utilized this strategy for fear of not adhering to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services requirements that patients are given choice when discharged to postacute care. Managerial Approach: A hospital’s approach to postacute care integration will be dictated by environmental uncertainty and the level of embeddedness hospitals have with potential postacute care partners. Hospitals, though, must also consider how and when to extend shared savings to postacute care partners, which will be based on the complexity of the risk-sharing calculation, the ability to maintain network flexibility, and the potential benefits of preserving competition and innovation among the network members. For hospital leaders, postacute care network development should include a robust and transparent data management process, start with an embedded network that maintains network design flexibility, and include a care management approach that includes patient-level coordination. Conclusion: The design of care management models could benefit from elevating the role of postacute care providers in the current array of risk-based payment models, and these providers should consider developing deeper relationships with select postacute care providers to achieve cost containment.