Work environment assessment instruments used in nursing

Abstract

The aim was to identify and characterize instruments for assessing the work environment of nurses. The sources of information were articles in six electronic databases. Prior to the search, a clinical question was constructed: "Which instruments are suitable for assessing the work environment of hospital nurses?" The query words were practice/work environment, nursing, scale. The search, using Boolean operators and limited to the period of 2010-2020, was performed from May to June 2020. The inclusion criteria were: empirical study, description of methods used, and an available English full text.From a total of 1,212 identified articles, 57 were selected for the final analysis. The studies used as many as 23 instruments. The most common ones were the Practice Environment Scale -Nursing Work Index (PES-NWI) or the variants Practice Environment Scale and Nursing Work Index, followed by Brisbane Practice Environment Measure and Revised Professional Practice Environment. The work environment was assessed along with other variables such as burnout syndrome or workload.Among the numerous instruments for monitoring the work environment, the PES-NWI was most commonly used. The instrument has also been translated into the Czech language. The study results suggest that the quality of the work environment is associated, for example, with nurses' job satisfaction or burnout syndrome, illustrating the importance of this issue in the Czech setting.

Strategies and Interventions to Support Quality Outcomes in the Home Care Setting

“…[3][4][5] The ideal work environment is one that provides conditions for physical, mental, and social or spiritual well-being. 3 In previous studies, researchers found support for a model where nurse practice environment dimensions including nurse-physician relations, management at the department level and hospital management, and work characteristics such as social capital (networks of relationships within a society that enable its effective functioning), decision latitude (an individual's potential to control their tasks and behavior during work), and workload predict job outcome variables and nurse ratings of quality of care. 6 Structural empowerment (SE) in the workplace, as well as access to opportunities, has a direct impact on the attitude and behavior of nursing professionals.…”

“…A large body of empirical literature supports the connection between the work environments that provide important context for nursing work and a variety of important patient, nurse, and organizational outcomes 3-5 . The ideal work environment is one that provides conditions for physical, mental, and social or spiritual well-being 3 .…”

“…A large body of empirical literature supports the connection between the work environments that provide important context for nursing work and a variety of important patient, nurse, and organizational outcomes 3-5 . The ideal work environment is one that provides conditions for physical, mental, and social or spiritual well-being 3 . In previous studies, researchers found support for a model where nurse practice environment dimensions including nurse-physician relations, management at the department level and hospital management, and work characteristics such as social capital (networks of relationships within a society that enable its effective functioning), decision latitude (an individual's potential to control their tasks and behavior during work), and workload predict job outcome variables and nurse ratings of quality of care 6 …”

Exploring the aftermath: Work demands, workplace violence, and job satisfaction among nurses in a public hospital in the post-COVID-19 era

“…Nurse performance is manifested through the quality of care, patient safety, and nursing services. When job satisfaction is low, the quality of care and nursing services will decrease (Janíková et al, 2021 ). Therefore, it is essential to prioritize maintaining and enhancing nurses’ job satisfaction to prevent any degradation in the quality of care and nursing services.…”

Assessment of the Critical Care Work Environment of Intensive Care Unit Nurses in Saudi Arabia

“…9 The ideal work environment provides conditions for physical, mental, and social well-being. 10 The external pressures of diminishing health-care reimbursement, increasing regulatory requirements, rising acuity and patient complexity, and increased health-care operational restrictions have a negative effect on work environments. 11 Assessment of work environment is essential indicators of hospital management and can be applied to workforce planning and identifying nursing profession needs.…”