Developing Psychological Empowerment and Patient Safety Culture: A Pre-experimental Study

Abstract

Aims: This study aimed to examine the development of the perceptions of the psychological empowerment and patient safety culture among Turkish nurses by implementing a training-based empowerment program for unit charge nurses. Methods: A pre-experimental, one-group pretest-posttest test design was used. The sample consisted of (n = 38) unit charge nurses and (n = 174) staff nurses; the program included theoretical components, group work, and individual study assignments. Data was collected using the Demographic Data Sheet, Psychological Empowerment Scale and Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture before, immediately after, and four months after the program. Data were analysed by percentages, repeated measures analysis of variance, and the Friedman analysis was used for the abnormally distributed data. The Cochran's Q test was used to analyze the number of events reported. Results: There was a statistically significant increase found in the results of the Psychological Empowerment Scale's scores on the competence and meaning subscales, the mean positive response to teamwork within the unit’s composite of Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (p < 0.05), and event reporting (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that creating a positive patient safety culture requires a review of the structures and processes of an organization. Creating, maintaining a desirable patient safety culture in health institutions is a long and hard process. The duration of future empowerment programs may be determined to allow for the long-term monitoring of their effects.

Keywords

• empowerment program
• patient safety culture
• pre-experimental study
• psychological empowerment
• unit charge nurse

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