The nursing work environment and quality of care: A cross‐sectional study using the Essentials of Magnetism II Scale in England. Issue 17 (11th April 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Oshodi, Titilayo O; Crockett, Rachel; Bruneau, Benjamin; West, Elizabeth
• Is Part Of: Journal of clinical nursing. Volume 26:Issue 17/18(2017)
• Page Start: 2721
• Page End: 2734
• Publication Date: 2017-04-11
• Subjects: autonomy -- Essentials of Magnetism II Scale -- nursing care quality -- nursing work environment; Nursing -- Periodicals; Clinical medicine -- Periodicals; 610.7305
• DOI: 10.1111/jocn.13783
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0962-1067

Abstract

Abstract : Aims and objectives: To explore the structure of the Essentials of Magnetism II (EOMII) scale using data from nurses working in England; and to describe the impact of different aspects of the nursing work environment on nurse‐assessed care quality (NACQ). Background: The EOMII Scale was developed in the United States to measure nursing work environments. It has been widely used in the United States and in a number of other countries, but has not yet been used in the UK. Design: Cross‐sectional study. Methods: Registered nurses ( n = 247) providing direct patient care in two National Health Service hospitals in England completed the EOMII scale and a single‐item measuring NACQ. Principal components analysis was used to assess the structure of the scale. Correlation and regression analyses were used to describe the relationships between factors and NACQ. Results: A solution with explanatory variance of 45.25% was identified. Forty items loaded on five factors, with satisfactory consistency: (i) ward manager support ; (ii) working as a team ; (iii) concern for patients ; (iv) organisational autonomy ; and (v) constraints on nursing practice . While in univariate analyses, each of the factors was significantly associated with NACQ, in multivariate analyses, the relationship between organisational autonomy and NACQ no longer reached significance. However, a multiple mediation model indicated that the effect of organisational autonomy on NACQ was mediated by nurse manager support, working as a team and concern for patients but not constraints on nursing practice . Conclusions: Subscales of the EOMII identified in an English sample of nurses measured important aspects of the nursing work environment, each of which is related to NACQ. Relevance to clinical practice: The EOMII could be a very useful tool for measuring aspects of the nursing work environment in the English Trusts particularly in relation to the quality of care.