Analyzing and Validating a Structure for Measuring the Nurse Practice Environment

Abstract

Nurse shortages pose a challenge in many countries and retaining existing nursing staff is crucial to addressing these shortages. To inform possible interventions aimed at retaining nurses, managers need a comprehensive understanding of the nature of the nurse practice environment. The scales from two of the main instruments used to assess nurses' practice environments are tested. A survey of an online panel obtained responses from 459 Australian nurses. Analyses determined a combination of items with good construct validity and improved predictive utility for outcomes of interest for individual nurses. By essentially combining the best items from each instrument, a more comprehensive representation of the nurse work environment is obtained with improved predictive utility. The resulting combined set of scales is recommended for analyses of the nurse working environment and uses a combined set of scales from each of the two source instruments, namely: nurse participation in hospital affairs, recognition, nursing process, peer work standards, nursing competence, orientation, managers, resources, nurse-physician collaboration, and positive scheduling climate. Future research can then build on that strong set of items with a validated structure and predictive utility to inform management and interventions.