Evaluation of professional autonomy and the association with individual factors among nurses in the Southeast of Iran

Abstract

Background and Purpose: Professional autonomy in nursing is defined as working in a self-determined environment and making decisions based on professional judgment. This study aimed to evaluate professional autonomy and its association with individual factors in nurses employed at teaching hospitals affiliated to Kerman University of Medical Sciences in the southeast of Iran in 2013. Methods: This was a descriptive analytical study, and required data were collected by quota sampling using self-administered questionnaires, which were completed by 385 nurses at four teaching hospitals in Kerman, Iran. Data analysis was performed using inferential (ANOVA) and descriptive statistics (mean and frequency) in SPSS V.18. Results: In this study, a significant correlation was observed between professional autonomy and age (P>0.001), gender (P=0.04), work experience (P>0.03), education level (P>0.02) and attitude of nurses. Moreover, a positive correlation was found between the mean scores of professional autonomy and nursing experience (r=0.559). Conclusion: According to the results of this study, general attitude of nurses towards professional autonomy was relatively positive. In addition, professional autonomy was observed to increase with higher education level and job satisfaction. Hierarchical team decisionmaking may restrict professional autonomy in nurses. Therefore, it is recommended that nursing skills and professional autonomy of nurses be improved through appropriate methods.

Predictors and outcomes of nurse professional autonomy: A cross‐sectional study

“…Findings indicated that nurses who attained higher education tended to have a greater degree of professional autonomy in their jobs. This finding supports previous studies (Cajulis et al, 2007;Ericsson, Whyte, & Ward, 2007;Motamed-Jahromi et al, 2015;Mrayyan, 2005). (Mrayyan, 2005).…”

“…Findings indicated that nurses who attained higher education tended to have a greater degree of professional autonomy in their jobs. This finding supports previous studies (Cajulis et al, ; Ericsson, Whyte, & Ward, ; Motamed‐Jahromi et al, ; Mrayyan, ). For instance, Cajulis et al, reported higher professional autonomy in nurses who were masters—prepared as compared with nurses with bachelor's degree.…”

“…Previous literature identified certain individual and organizational variables that helped to explain autonomy in nurses such as their age, gender, nurse‐patient ratio, number of nurses in the hospital, type of hospital, and work experience (Amini et al, ; Cajulis et al, ; Iliopoulou & While, ; Georgiou et al, ; Motamed‐Jahromi et al, ; Mrayyan, ). Interestingly, in this study, nurses' gender, age, work status, income, job tenure, and hospital category did influence autonomy among Philippine nurses.…”

“…A variety of individual and organizational factors have been identified to influence professional autonomy in nurses. Individual variables known to influence nurse autonomy have included: age, tenure, years of experience at the present job, and education (Amini et al, 2015;Cajulis, Fitzpatrick, & Kleinpell, 2007;Iliopoulou & While, 2010;Motamed-Jahromi, Jalali, Eshghi, Zaher, & Dehghani, 2015;Mrayyan, 2005). Nurses who had a significant number of years of experience demonstrated higher autonomy scores (Georgiou, Papathanassoglou, & Pavlakis, 2017).…”

Psychometric evaluation of the Indonesian version of the Person‐centered Care Assessment Tool

“…Autonomy appears to be linked to the authority to make decisions, and the freedom to make clinical judgements, choices and actions related to patients and families (Skår, 2009). The ability of care staff to autonomously make judgements or decisions in care is shaped by knowledge and experience (Motamed‐Jahromi et al, 2015; Tanner, 2006). Therefore, possible reasons for the emergence of this subscale could be that participants had little knowledge about PCC, had little practical experience with PCC or did not have Japanese national qualifications as nurses or care workers.…”