This study was conducted to develop an Empowerment Education Program (EEP) for kidney transplant patients and to test the program's effects on uncertainty, self-care ability, and compliance.
The research was conducted using a nonequivalent control group with a pretest-posttest design. The participants were 53 outpatients (experimental group: 25, control group: 28) who were receiving hospital treatment after kidney transplants. After the pre-test, patients in the experimental group underwent a weekly EEP for six weeks. The post-test was conducted immediately after, and four weeks after the program's completion in the same manner as the pre-test. For the control group, we conducted a post-test six and ten weeks after the pre-test, without and program intervention. A repeated measure ANOVA was performed to compare the change scores on main outcomes.
Uncertainty was significantly lower in the experimental group than in the control group, both immediately after (t=-3.84,
Kidney transplant patients who underwent an EEP showed a decrease in uncertainty and an improvement in self-care ability and compliance. Thus, our findings confirmed that an EEP can be an independent intervention method for improving and maintaining the health of kidney transplant patients.
The purpose of this study was to develop a relapse prevention program (RPP) and examine the effects of the RPP on insight, empowerment, and treatment adherence in patients with schizophrenia.
A non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design was used. Participants were 54 inpatients who had a diagnosis of schizophrenia (experimental group: 26, control group: 28). The study was carried out from February 7, 2012 to February 6, 2013. Over a 10-day period prior to discharge each participant in the experimental group received three one-hour sessions of RPP a one-to-one patient-nurse interaction. Data were collected using Assess Unawareness of Mental Disorder (SUMD), Empowerment Scale, and Insight and Treatment Attitude Questionnaire (ITAQ) and analyzed using PASW 18.0 with chi-square test, independent t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, and ANCOVA.
The experimental group had a significant increase in insight and treatment adherence compared to the control group. However, there was no significant difference in empowerment between the two groups.
Findings indicate that the RPP for patients with schizophrenia was effective in improving insight and treatment adherence. A longitudinal study is needed to confirm the persistence of these effects of RPP in patients with schizophrenia.
This study aims at empirically clarifying the relationship between power and the interpersonal conflict, including nurses' understanding of their relative power, the causes of interpersonal conflicts with the nurses, and strategies to resolve conflicts in order to understand how nurses' relative power affect their conflicts. For the empirical survey, the population was defined as all the nurses working at a medical organization in Seoul, Korea. 1083 nurses were selected as the sample for the questionnaire survey and statistical analyses. For the sampling, 32 medical organizations were selected by a stratified random method and sub-samples were arbitrarily drawn from each organization to obtain the final sample of 1083 nurses who responded to the questionnaire designed by the researcher. According to the result of the study, most nurses experience conflict more than once a month, and 70.4% of the respondents answered that interpersonal conflicts were directly or indirectly caused by power relations, which indicates that they perceive power relations as the main cause of interpersonal conflicts. Nurses experienced the most conflicts with interns and residents(29.7%), then patients and their families(24.3%), higher-positioned nurses(12.3%), nurse colleagues(7.7%), lower-positioned nurses(6.5%), and staff doctors(5.1%). If we classify these into three groups, the frequency of the conflicts, from most frequent to least, is in the order of doctors, nurses, and patients. In terms of relative power, nurses perceive that they have greater power than patients than patients and their families, lower-positioned nurses, and nurse colleagues. In contrast, nurses perceive that they have less power than interns and residents, higher-positioned nurses, and staff doctors. Among these groups, nurses perceive that they have the most power over patients and the least over staff doctors. These results indicate that nurses tend to experience more conflicts with members of groups that are stronger than themselves in terms of relative power. Nurses use positive strategies such as the compromise strategy(32.3%) or the collaboration strategy(20.3%) to manage conflicts, more than other strategies. However, they use avoidance or competition strategy more at the earlier stage, compromise strategy more in the mid stage, and collaboration strategy more at the later stage of the interpersonal conflict. In relation to power, nurses use the collaboration strategy or the compromise strategy more when their perceived power is greater than or equal to their counterpart's and they use the avoidance strategy or the accommodation strategy if their power is less. In terms of source of power, nurses' perceived relative power is greater in the order of referent power, expert power, reward power, legitimate power, and coercive power, where referent power is perceived as having the greatest power and coercive power is least. Most nurses(69.3%) used their power to resolve a conflict, with positive outcomes. Expert power was used most frequently. Overall, this study strongly indicates that the enhancement of power of nurses to have equal power relations with doctors would heighten the success of conflict resolution, since power is the main cause of conflicts. Specifically, nurses experience most conflicts with doctors against whom they perceive the greatest gap in power, and the choice of a conflict management strategy depend upon their power relations.
This study was done to provide information which would lead to nursing care of the elderly being more holistically through an understanding of the phenomena of powerlessness based on the lived experience of powernessless by the elderly, the meaning the elderly give to such phenomena, and what essence of powerlessness is. The methodology used in this study was Max Van Manen's phenomenological method based on the philosophy of Merleu-Ponty and a concerete approach was realized through the 11 steps suggested in the Van Manen's method. Data collection was done from March 2, 1995 to December 30, 1995. The subjects for this study were four elderly persons who lived with their families and who were over 60 years of age. Data were collected about the lived experience of the elderly, this researcher's experience of powerlessness, the linguistic meaning of powerlessness, idioms of the word or a feeling of powerlessness, and descriptions of powerlessness in the elderly as they appeared in the literature, are works, and phenomenological literature. All data were used to provide insights into the phenomena of powerlessness. Data about the experience of powerlessness by the elderly were collected through open interviews, participation, and observation. In the anlaysis of the theme of this study, the aspects of the theme, powerlessness in the elderly were clarified, thereby abstracting and finding meaningful statements by the elderly about their feeling of powerlessness, and then those significant statements were expressed as lingnistic transformations. The summarized findings from the study are as follows: 1. Five meanings of powerlessness in the elderly were defined, (weakness), (dependence), (frustration), (worthlessness) and (giving up). 2. (Weakness) means that the elderly experience, not only their aging but also, their becoming weak and the loss of physical function frequently caused by diseases. (Dependence) means that the elderly experience dependence without any influence from the surroundings and that elderly patients who are hospitalized lose their autonomy, follow entirely their doctor's prescriptions, use aid equipment and directions, and depend only on those things. (Frustration) means that the elderly experience the loss of their roles from the past, there by feeling that there is no work for them to do anymore and therefore feel unable to do anything. (Worthlessness) means that the elderly experience the feeling of losing their social roles from the past, having no financial ability, thereby being a burden to their children or the people around them, and therefore regarding themselves useless. (Giving up) means that the elderly experience the feeling of closeness to death in the final stage of their lifetime, lose hope to be bealed from their disease, and recognize the incontrollability of their own body. 3. From a general view of the meaning of the theme the powerlessness in the elderly -the most essential meaning of the theme is the (sense of loss). For the elderly are experiencing a sense of loss in the situation of being elderly and therefore being often hospitalized. Brief definitions of the five phenomena could be (weakness) meaning the loss of physical strength, (dependence) the loss of mentality caused by disease and hospitalization, (frustration) and (worthlessness) the loss of social performance caused by the loss of social functions from the past, and lastly (giving up) the loss of the controllability of such situations of aging and suffering disease. In light of the discussion above, it is understandable that the hospitalized elderly experience powerlessness not only as it related to their diseases but also to their normal aging, and this related to other characteristics of being elderly means that the (sense of loss) is the very essence of their powerlessness. 4. While most cases are of the normal elderly experiencing powerlessness in relation to their social network, cases of elderly who are hospitalized are of those experiencing powerlessness in relation to the loss of their physical desire. 5. The findings discussed above can serve as guidelines for nurses who take care of the ill elderly who are hospitalized and that can provide cues to appropriate nursing service, recognizing that the subjective experience of the objective age of the elderly is so important. Nurses can provide highly qualitative nursing service, based on their deep understanding of the suffering of the elderly due to feelings of powerlssness.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to project supply and demand for registered nurses to the year 2015 and to make recommendations regarding nurse manpower planning for the 21st century in Korea.
METHODS
The supply of nurses was predicted using a baseline projection and demographic methods. The demand for nurses was forecasted by the derivative method.
RESULTS
Projections indicate there will be an oversupply of nurses based on the current productivity. However, there will be under-supply if predictions are based on the standard for nursing staff established by the medical law and the optimal productivity derived by the patient classification system.
CONCLUSION
Korea needs more practicing nurses. One way to increase the number of practicing nurses is to increase the number of graduates. However, considering the low retention rate of nurses, a better way to solve the nurse shortage problem is to develop strategies to recruit and retain nurses.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of biofeedback exercise training on muscle activity and activities of daily livings (ADL) in hemiplegic patients. An experimental group consisting of 17 people, was given biofeedback exercise training for 30- 60 minutes per week for 5 weeks, while a control group consisting of 18 people, was given normal exercise with quasi-experimental design. RESULT: The results of the study show that biofeedback exercise is effective for improving muscle activity in hemiplegic patients, especially in the hemiplegic limbs. However, this study found no significant differences in ADL and IADL between the experimental and the control groups. It implies that ADL and IADL may not be improved for a short period of time, such as 5 weeks, for people with more than five years of hemiplegia. The study suggests that the effect of biofeedback exercise on ADL and IADL should be determined in hemiplegic patients in acute stage.
The purpose of this study was to develop a tool to assess the powerlessness and to measure the powerlessness of elderly. From the result of pre-test, twenty seven items were finally selected to survey the elderly's powerlessness. The questionnaires on the elderly's powerlessness were drafted so that such tool may be evaluated in accordance with the four point Likert Scale. The number of subjects is 1,150 with ages of 60 years or more and who live in a large city, a small and middle-sized city and a rural area. The subjects of the test and retest were 85 elderlies. Collected data were analyzed by utilizing SAS program with Cronbach's alpa and Pearson's correlation, factor analysis method and known group techniques, descriptive statics, t-test and ANOVA. The results from this study were summarized below: 1. When the factor analysis method was applied for validity, the tool for powerlessness of elderly was separated into 5 factors: loss of self-confidence to deal with physical, emotional, social aspects of life; expulsion by others from meaningful human relate; perception that life is meaningless and time passes quickly; falling behind young people; being rejected by other people, having no influence on others. An application of the known group technique showed a significant difference with the result of the degree of elderly's powerlessness tools developed by the two groups, with illness and without. 2. In testing reliability, it was found that coefficient of test-retest was .9435(P<.0001) when the test-retest method was used as a test of stability, and that the alpha coefficient of internal consistency was .9141 over all items within the tool of elderly's powerlessness. 3. In powerlessness of elderly, total mean is 2.8493. And in factor of powerlessness, the highest factor is falling behind young people (M=3.1713), the lowest factor is loss of self- confidence to deal with physical, emotional, social aspects of life(M=2.6080). 4. The results from the test for the degree of powerlessness, according to the subject's demographic variables, showed that there were significant differences between age, sex, marital status, educational level, religion, possession of house, job, monthly pocket money, health status, illness and a place of residence.
Recently the concept of 'empowerment' not only attracts attention in the area of management but also is considered as an useful concept in the areas of nursing theory, practice, education, and research. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the meaning of the concept 'empowerment'. More concretely, it is to find the concept that can be applied appropriately to the area of nursing management. This study uses Walker and Avant's(1983) process of concept analysis. The attributes of empowerment based on the concept can be defined concisely as follows: 1. a dynamic and interaction process. 2. a partnership which values self and others : power shaving. 3. mutual decision-making using resources, opportunities, and authority 4. accept autonomy and responsibility Antecedents of empowerment consist of 1) mutual trust and respect, 2) education and support, 3) participation and commitment. In regard to the consequences of empowerment, it is expected to 1) positive self-esteem, 2) ability to sex and reach goals, 3) the promotion of organization's effectiveness and productivity, 4) provide effective and high quality health-care, 5) a sense of hope for the future. The concept of empowerment is certainly believed that it will help future nurses since they needs an integrated technique that can treat acute and chronic patients' nursing, individuals, families, and communities. Therefore, it is necessary to develop the instrument including the defining attributes identified in this study. Also, it is need follow up study of this concept.
This study was performed to analyze effects of the power and empowerment on job satisfaction and organizational commitment. This study was based on the Kanter's theory of organizational empowerment.
A predictive, non-experimental design was used to test the model in a sample of 688 nurses working in 7 university hospitals that have over 500 beds in Seoul, Kyunggi and Kangwon provinces. The data were collected from December, 2003 to January, 2004. It was analyzed with descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation of SPSS and with path analysis of LISREL.
The formal and informal power had direct effects on empowerment. Formal power also had direct effects on informal power. Empowerment had direct effects on job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Organizational commitment had direct effects on job satisfaction. There was positive effects in all of the variables.
The positive changes show on personal behaviors and attitudes when the nurses who have formal and informal power are empowered. These findings would be important resource to nurse administrators for clinical implication.
The purpose of this study was to develop an empowerment program as a nursing intervention for mothers who care for a child with cerebral palsy at home and to determine the effects of the program on those mothers' self efficacy, coping behavior and burden.
An non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design was used in this study. An Empowerment program was developed based on Dunst & Trivette's model. Using the program, the study was carried out from Dec. 13, 2003 to Jan. 17, 2004, mothers whose children, aged 1 to 6, were outpatients of the Dept. of Rehabilitation Medicine, at P University Hospital or registered at educational institutions for early disabled children. The experimental group of subjects were included in the new empowerment program which was held for two and half hours every week for 6 times.
After treatment with the Empowerment Program, the experimental group was found to be significantly increased in score for self efficacy(t=4.55, p<.01), coping behavior(t=5.54, p<.001), objective burden(t=-3.96, p<.01) and subjective burden(t=-5.05, p<.01), in comparison to the control group.
The Empowerment Program is very effective in increasing self efficacy and coping behavior of mothers having a child with cerebral palsy and decreasing their burden. Finally, this study would recommend that an empowerment program should be extended to community facilities such as public health offices and welfare centers.
The purpose of this study was to develop a breastfeeding empowerment program and to investigate the effects of the breastfeeding empowerment program on self-efficacy, adaptation and continuation of breastfeeding for primiparous women.
The 5 session breastfeeding empowerment program was developed and a non-equivalent control group non-synchronized quasi-experiment design was used. Fifty-five participants were assigned to either the experimental group (n=27) or the control group (n=28). Effects were tested using repeated measures ANOVA and χ2-test.
Scores for self-efficacy, adaptation and continuation of breastfeeding of in the experimental group after program were significantly higher than 1week, 4weeks, 8weeks scores in control group.
The effects of the breastfeeding empowerment program for elevating self-efficacy, adaptation and continuation of breastfeeding in primiparous women were validated. Therefore, this program can be recommended for vigorous use in clinical practice.
The aim of this study was to examine the mediating effect of empowerment in the relationship of nurse managers' authentic leadership, with nurses' organizational commitment and job satisfaction.
The participants in this study were 273 registered nurses working in five University hospitals located in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. The measurements included the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire, Condition of Work Effectiveness Questionnaire-II, Organizational Commitment Questionnaire and Korea-Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using t-test, ANOVA, Scheffé test, Pearson correlation coefficients, simple and multiple regression techniques with the SPSS 18.0 program. Mediation analysis was performed according to the Baron and Kenny method and Sobel test.
There were significant correlations among authentic leadership, empowerment, organizational commitment and job satisfaction. Empowerment showed perfect mediating effects in the relationship between authentic leadership and organizational commitment. It had partial mediating effects in the relationship between authentic leadership and job satisfaction.
In this study, nurse managers' authentic leadership had significant influences on nurses organizational commitment and job satisfaction via empowerment. Therefore, to enhance nurses' organizational commitment and job satisfaction, it is necessary to build effective strategies to enhance nurse manager's authentic leadership and to develop empowering education programs for nurses.
This study was done to develop an empowerment program for people with chronic mental illness and to analyze effects of the program on level of empowerment.
The research was conducted using a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design. Participants were 37 people with chronic mental illness (experimental group: 18, control group: 19). The empowerment program was provided for 8 weeks (15 sessions). Data were collected between July 21 and October 17, 2014. Data were analyzed using Chi-square, Fisher's exact test, Sapiro-wilk test, and Repeated measure ANOVA with SPSS/WIN 18.0.
Quantitative results show that self-efficacy, interpersonal relationships, attitudes in the workplace, occupational performance capacity, and levels of empowered execute were significantly better in the experimental group compared to the control group.
Study findings indicate that this empowerment program for persons with chronic mental illness is effective for improving self efficacy, interpersonal skills, attitudes in the workplace, occupational performance capacity, levels of empowered execute.
The purpose of this study was to introduce the main concepts of statistical testing and effect size and to provide researchers in nursing science with guidance on how to calculate the effect size for the statistical analysis methods mainly used in nursing.
For t-test, analysis of variance, correlation analysis, regression analysis which are used frequently in nursing research, the generally accepted definitions of the effect size were explained.
Some formulae for calculating the effect size are described with several examples in nursing research. Furthermore, the authors present the required minimum sample size for each example utilizing G*Power 3 software that is the most widely used program for calculating sample size.
It is noted that statistical significance testing and effect size measurement serve different purposes, and the reliance on only one side may be misleading. Some practical guidelines are recommended for combining statistical significance testing and effect size measure in order to make more balanced decisions in quantitative analyses.
The purpose of this study was to develop a scale to evaluate empowerment in woman with breast cancer and to examine the validity and reliability of the scale.
The development process for the initial items included a literature review, interviews, and construction of a conceptual framework. The identified items were evaluated for content validity by experts, resulting in 3 factors and 48 preliminary items. Participants were 319 women with breast cancer recruited to test reliability and validity of the preliminary scale. Data were analyzed using item analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, criterion related validity, internal consistency and test-retest reliability.
The final scale consisted of 30 items and 3 factors. Factors, including 'intrapersonal factor' (14 items), 'interactional factor' (8 items), and 'behavioral factor' (8 items), were drawn up after confirmatory factor analysis. Goodness of fit of the final research model was very appropriate as shown by χ2/df=1.86, TLI=.90, CFI=.92, SRMR=.06, and RMSEA=.05. Criterion validity was evaluated by total correlation with the Cancer Empowerment Questionnaire .78. Cronbach's alpha for total items was .93 and test-retest reliability was .69.
Findings from this study indicate that the scale can be used in the development of nursing interventions to promote the empowerment of women having breast cancer.
The purpose of this study was to develop a multi-disciplinary self-management intervention based on empowerment theory and to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention for older adults with chronic illness.
A randomized controlled trial design was used with 43 Korean older adults with chronic illness (Experimental group=22, Control group=21). The intervention consisted of two phases: (1) 8-week multi-disciplinary, team guided, group-based health education, exercise session, and individual empowerment counseling, (2) 16-week self-help group activities including weekly exercise and group discussion to maintain acquired self-management skills and problem-solving skills. Baseline, 8-week, and 24-week assessments measured health empowerment, exercise self-efficacy, physical activity, and physical function.
Health empowerment, physical activity, and physical function in the experimental group increased significantly compared to the control group over time. Exercise self-efficacy significantly increased in experimental group over time but there was no significant difference between the two groups.
The self-management program based on empowerment theory improved health empowerment, physical activity, and physical function in older adults. The study finding suggests that a health empowerment strategy may be an effective approach for older adults with multiple chronic illnesses in terms of achieving a sense of control over their chronic illness and actively engaging self-management.
The purpose of this manuscript is to discuss the need for use of evidence based practice (EBP) in LTC, the current use of evidence in long term care facilities and what we know about adoption of the use of EBP in LTC.
Literature review and reporting of findings from the M-TRAIN study that was a quasi-experimental design to test the effectiveness of an intervention to increase the use of EBPs for urinary incontinence and pain in 48 LTC facilities.
Barriers to adopting EBPs include lack of available time, lack of access to current research literature, limited critical appraisal skills, excessive literature to review, non-receptive organizational culture, limited resources, and limited decision-making authority of staff to implement change. Strategies to promote adoption of EBP include the commitment of management; the culture of the home; leadership; staff knowledge, time, and reward; and facility size, complexity, the extent that members are involved outside the facility, NH chain membership, and high level of private pay residents. Findings from the M-TRAIN add, stability of nurse leader and congruency between the leaders perception of their leadership and the staff's perception of the leadership.
There is clear evidence of the need and the benefits to residents of LTC and to the health care system yet adoption of EBP continues to be slow and sporadic. There is also evidence for the process of establishing best evidence and many resources to find the available EBPs. The urgent need now is finding ways to best get the EBPs implemented in LTC. There is growing evidence about best methods to do this but continued research is needed. Clearly, residents in LTC deserve the best care possible and EBPs represent an important vehicle by which to do this.
This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the empowerment intervention on the levels of self-esteem, interpersonal relationships and adjustment to nursing home life of the Korean nursing home residents.
Participants (n=47) whose period of stay was less than one year were purposefully selected from 3 nursing homes in Korea. The experimental group (n=21) attended 10 weekly hour-long empowerment sessions. The empowerment program comprised two components; group education and group discussion. The control group (n=26) received a two-hour education about health management.
Compared with the control group, the experimental group showed significantly higher mean scores of self-esteem (t=5.51,
Findings of this study suggest that empowerment interventions may be effective in enhancing nursing home residents' self-esteem, interpersonal relationships and adjustment to nursing home life. Future research is needed to determine if such an empowerment program could be used with newly institutionalized elders to speed as well as enhance their adjustment to nursing home life.
This study was designed to identify burnout and factors influencing burnout in contingent nurses.
A cross-sectional design was conducted with a sample of 228 contingent nurses randomly selected from 25 general hospitals in Korea. The tools used for this study were scales measuring burnout (8 items), job stress (8 items), job satisfaction (9 items), self efficacy (9 items), organizational commitment (9 items), empowerment (9 items), autonomy (7 items) and social support (8 items). The data were analyzed using SPSS 15.0 employing Pearson correlation coefficients and multiple regression analysis.
The mean score for burnout in contingent nurses was 3.05 points. Factors influencing burnout in contingent nurses were identified as job stress (β=.40), satisfaction level with current ward (β=-.25), organizational commitment (β=-.21), job satisfaction (β=-.19) and empowerment (β=-.16). These factors explained 65.0% of burnout reported by contingent nurses.
The results indicate which factors are major factors influencing burnout in contingent nurses in general hospitals. Therefore, these factors may serve as predictors of burnout in contingent nurses.
The purpose of this study was to determine effects of an empowerment education program (EEP) on internet games addiction, empowerment, and stress in middle school students.
The EEP used in this study was based on the Freire's Empowerment Education Model. The research design of this study was a non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design for 48 middle school students, who were conveniently assigned to an experimental group or a control group. The data were collected from May 29 to June 19, 2005. Data were analyzed using SPSS/PC program with frequencies, χ2-test, Fisher exact test, t-test, mean, standard deviation and ANCOVA.
1) The first hypothesis that, "the experimental group would have higher empowerment scores than the control group." was supported. 2) The second hypothesis that, "the experimental group would have lower internet games addiction scores than the control group." was supported. 3) The third hypothesis that, "the experimental group would have lower stress scores than the control group." was supported.
We suggest, therefore, that the EEP should be used with adolescent to help them control their stress, internet games addiction and to increase their empowerment.
This study was conducted to identify the factors that influence nurses' organizational citizenship behavior.
A cross-sectional design was used, with a convenience sample of 547 nurses from four university hospitals in Seoul and Gyeonggi province. The data were collected through a questionnaire survey done from September 22 to October 10, 2008. The tools used for this study were scales on organizational citizenship behavior (14 items), self-leadership (14 items), empowerment (10 items), organizational commitment (7 items), job satisfaction (8 items) and transformational·transactional leadership (14 items). Cronbach's alpha and factor analysis were examined to test reliability and construct validity of the scale. The data collected were processed using SPSS Window 15.0 Program for actual numbers and percentages, differences in the dependent variable according to general characteristics, and means, standard deviations, correlation coefficients and multiple regression analysis.
The factors influencing nurses' organizational citizenship behavior were identified as self-leadership (β=.247), empowerment (β=.233), job satisfaction (β=.209), organizational commitment (β=.158), and transactional leadership (β=.142). Five factors explained 42.0% of nurses' organizational citizenship behavior.
The results of this study can be used to develop further management strategies for enhancement of nurses' organizational citizenship behavior.
In this research multi-level analysis was done to identify factors related to quality of services. Patient characteristics and organizational factors were considered.
The data were collected from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) data base. The sample was selected from 17,234 patients who had been admitted between January 2007 and May 2008 to one of 253 long-term care hospitals located in Seoul, six other metropolitan cities or nine provinces The data were analyzed with SAS 9.1 using multi-level analysis.
The results indicated that individual level variables related to quality of service were age, cognitive ability, patient classification, and initial quality scores. The organizational level variables related to quality of service were ownership, number of beds, and turnover rate. The explanatory power of variables related to organizational level variances in quality of service was 23.72%.
The results of this study indicate that differences in the quality of services were related to organizational factors. It is necessary to consider not only individual factors but also higher-level organizational factors such as nurse' welfare and facility standards if quality of service in long term care hospitals is to be improved.
This study was to determine the mediator or moderator role of empowerment in the relationship between the head nurse's transformational leadership and organizational commitment as perceived by staff nurses.
Data was collected from 451 nurses in a tertiary hospital located in B city by means of structured questionnaires. Data was analyzed with descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation coefficient and hierarchial multiple regression using the SPSS program.
Empowerment showed mediating effects between the head nurse's transformational leadership and organizational commitment as perceived by staff nurses. However, empowerment did not show moderating effects.
Nurses' perception of empowerment, the head nurse's transformational leadership and organizational commitment have a strong relationship. This finding suggests the importance of empowering nurses to increase organizational commitment.