Original Research: How Magnet Hospital Status Affects Nurses, Patients, and Organizations: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Objective: As the number of Magnet hospitals continues to rise in the United States and abroad, the body of literature regarding various outcomes at Magnet hospitals is increasing also. A systematic review examining and compiling the most recent evidence would be invaluable to those seeking to pursue Magnet recognition for their facility. We conducted this systematic review to investigate how Magnet hospital status affects outcomes for nursing professionals, patients, and health care organizations. Methods: In January 2018, the databases CINAHL, ProQuest, PubMed, and La Biblioteca Cochrane Plus were searched for relevant studies. The reference lists of selected articles were also examined to identify additional studies. The PRISMA statement was followed, and established methods for systematic review were used to produce a narrative summary. The quality of the reviewed studies was assessed according to the 22-item Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) checklist for observational studies. Results: Of the 163 studies identified, 21 met the eligibility criteria and are included in this review. On the whole, lower rates of nursing shortages, burnout, job dissatisfaction, and turnover were observed at Magnet hospitals compared with non-Magnet hospitals. The rates of patient mortality, falls, hospital-acquired infections, and pressure ulcers were also lower. Nursing work environments were found to be safer and were associated with a higher quality of care in Magnet hospitals than in non-Magnet hospitals, and Magnet hospitals were found to provide more cost-effective care. Conclusion: This review provides nursing managers and administrators with the most recent evidence demonstrating that Magnet hospitals have better nursing work environments and are associated with better outcomes for nurses, patients, and organizations than non-Magnet hospitals. This evidence should inform future decision-making with regard to pursuing Magnet designation.

The mediating role of resilience between work–family conflict and career development among Chinese nurses: A cross‐sectional study

“…One previous study showed that nurses with lower resilience have a higher level of intention to leave their jobs (Ren et al., 2016), which aligns with our result showing a positive association between resilience and career development ( r = 0.62, p < .001); taken together, this suggests low resilience may directly affect nursing career development, and even interrupt the careers of nurses. Helping nurses to resolve work–family conflicts may improve their resilience; nursing managers could achieve this through approaches such as ‘magnetic scheduling’, strategic allocation of human resources, flexible working systems (Rodriguez‐Garcia et al., 2020), ‘magnetic’ psychological support for more person‐centred care and family care support, which may lead to greater motivation for career development (Wang et al., 2019).…”

The influence of community health on hospitals attainment of Magnet designation: Implications for policy and practice

“…In return, they benefit from improved health behaviours and increased access to clinical care. Furthermore, it is well known that Magnet hospitals invest in personnel, technologies and programs that improve the delivery system for patient care (Jayawardhana et al, 2014; Rodríguez‐García et al, 2020). As a result, they create employment opportunities and are likely to attract more highly qualified health professionals to the county (Reinhardt et al, 2020).…”

“…For socio‐economic characteristics not included in the socio‐economic County Health Ranking domain, we accounted for the average (2010–2013) population per 10,000 and the population 65 years of age and older per 10,000. Lastly, we included whether or not the county had a Magnet hospital before 2014 to assess differences in counties that already had a Magnet hospital versus those that did not (Rodríguez‐García et al, 2020). Further, we controlled for competition as Magnet designation could be viewed as a competitive advantage which might encourage hospitals to adopt similar strategic initiatives (Abraham et al, 2011; Drenkard, 2013).…”

Comparing the Nurse Work Environment, Job Satisfaction, and Intent to Leave Among Military, Magnet®, Magnet-Aspiring, and Non-Magnet Civilian Hospitals

“…10 However, a more recent systematic review of 21 published articles found that 86% of these studies reported better outcomes in Magnet hospitals. 11 Although Magnet hospitals are known for their superior patient, nurse, and organizational outcomes, 11,12 the Magnet model is not the only hospital model associated with highly favorable nurse work environments. Recent work has shown that hospitals in the Kaiser Permanente system have nurse work environments and outcomes comparable with Magnet hospitals, yet none of the reported system hospitals were Magnet certified.…”