Nursing personnel's perceptions of the organizational climate in public and private hospitals in Spain

Abstract

Organizational climate is considered one of the most significant determinants of individual and group behaviour in institutions. The International Council of Nurses has launched a campaign to improve professional recognition, support for personal development, safety and health at work. To analyse nursing personnel's organizational climate perceptions using the Work Environment Scale (WES) in two categories of hospitals. A cross-sectional survey was undertaken in public and private hospitals. Two sampling approaches were used. At the Public Hospital, the sample was randomly selected (n = 297, 168 nurses and 129 other nursing personnel). At the Private Hospitals, a convenience sampling method was used (n = 66, 14 nurses and 52 other nursing personnel). The study used descriptive and inferential statistic analyses to explain the nursing personnel perception of organizational climate and to explore variations between nurses and other nursing personnel in both categories of hospitals. Sixty per cent and seventy per cent of WES subscales yielded scores below the midpoint for the perception of work environment in public and private hospitals, respectively. Mean scores for both categories were similar, except for the subscales of Pressure and Control that were higher in Private Hospitals. In the Public Hospital, nurses scored significantly lower than other nursing personnel in Involvement, Innovation and Comfort. Based on these findings, it is suggested that nurse managers should introduce strategies to set conditions for a better work environment in public and private hospitals.