The Relationship Between Staff Nurses Empowerment and Their Shared Decision Making at Nasser Institute Hospital

Abstract

Nurses constitute the largest group in the health workforce and provide the majority of health services in almost every country (International Council of Nurses, 2009). According to the Institute of Medicine (2004), the quality of patient care is directly affected by the degree to which hospital nurses are empowered in participation, and shared in decision making regarding their patients’ care plan and are central to the organizational decision making. This study aimed at investigating the relationship between staff nurses empowerment and their shared decision making through: assessing level of staff nurses empowerment, identifying shared decision making among staff nurses, finding out relationship between staff nurse empowerment and their shared decision making. This study was carried out at different intensive care units at Nasser Institute Hospital, and affiliated to Ministry of Health. Descriptive correlational design was used in this study. The study subjects consisted of 97 staff nurses. The data were collected through two self-administrated questionnaire sheet namely Empowerment questionnaire sheets, and Decisional involvement scale. First was Empowerment questionnaire: This tool Condition for work effectiveness questionnaire (CWEQ): was developed by Laschinger (2012). The questionnaire composed of two parts. First part consists of demographic characteristics of the study subjects, and the second part includes (39) statements divided under 4 groups as follow information, support, resources, and opportunity. Second tool was Decisional involvement scale: This tool was developed by Havens & Vasey (2003). It was consist of two parts: First part consists of demographic characteristics of the study subjects, and the second part consists of 22 items sub grouped under 6 constructs as follow support staff practice, unit staffing, quality of professional practice, professional recruitment, unit coverage and leadership, and quality collaboration/liaison activities. The results revealed that: • Slightly more than half (50.5%) of staff nurses had age more than 30 years old, with mean age 30.2 ± 6.2. Moreover, slightly more than three (77.3%) were female, and slightly more than three fifths (60.8%) were married. • Also, slightly more than three quarters (77.3%) of them had diploma in nursing, and more than two fifths (44.3%) were nursing technician. • Slightly more than half (51.5%) of staff nurses were