The perception of shared governance and engagement in decision-making among nurses.

BACKGROUND: Shared governance is a structural framework for operationalizing nursing ownership and accountability for nursing practice. Healthcare institutions are striving to promote healthy and satisfactory work conditions to retain their qualified personnel and achieve organizational stability and high care quality. However, little is known about nurses' participation in governance in developing countries. AIM: This study aims to evaluate the levels of shared governance, also known as professional governance, among nurses in Jordan. The demographics of the study participants will also be assessed. METHODS: The current study used a cross-sectional design implementing an anonymous online survey technique to collect data from 111 nurses on the Index of Professional Nursing Governance (IPNG). Descriptive statistics were performed to evaluate the nurses' perception of the concept of shared governance in the domains of personnel, information, resources, participation goals and conflict resolution, and practice. RESULTS: Among the 111 nurses, 55% of the participants were females, 45.5% were affiliated with governmental hospitals, and about half of them worked in critical care units. The analysis showed that the mean score for the total IPNG was 113 (SD = 26.28). The analyses of the mean scores of IPNG domains ranged from 11.5 (SD = 4.6) for goals and conflict resolution to 23.8 (SD = 5.7) for access to information. DISCUSSION: The results revealed that nurses' average perception of professional governance demonstrated shared governance, and more specifically, in the lower level of shared governance where decisions are made primarily by management with some staff input. Analysis of the domains of governance revealed that participants' scores corresponded with shared governance in the areas of information, resources, goals and conflict, and practice, while traditional governance was prevalent in the governance of nursing personnel and participation. CONCLUSION: There is an agreement on the need of moving the position of frontline nurses to the center of their organizations where equity, accountability, and ownership are the pillars of participative governance. Frontline nurses need further empowerment to be more actively engaged especially in the management of nursing staff and related structures and in the participation in structures connected to governance activities at different organizational levels such as in committees.

The role of structural empowerment in predicting computer use among Jordanian nurses: A cross-sectional study.

AIM: The study aimed to examine the relationship between structural empowerment and attitudes towards computer use among nurses. BACKGROUND: Empowering organizational structure is a significant factor affecting employees' attitudes and behaviours towards using organizational resources. Health information technologies were proven to improve health care quality. No previous studies examined the relationship between structural empowerment and attitudes towards computer use. METHODS: A cross-sectional correlational design was used. Self-reported questionnaires were completed by 200 Jordanian nurses. Descriptive statistics, Pearson r correlation and linear regression analyses were used to address the research aim. RESULTS: Structural empowerment was significantly and positively associated with attitudes towards computer use. Dimensions in structural empowerment that predict positive attitude towards computer use were access to opportunity (ß = 0.382, p = .000), formal power (ß = -0.252, p = .006) and informal power (ß = 0.176, p = .046). CONCLUSIONS: Strengthening access to empowerment structures is essential to increase nurses' work efficiency. Improving empowering structures can be achieved by enhancing opportunities to increase professional knowledge and skills towards computerization. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Nurse managers should promote work conditions that motivate nurses towards positive recognition of innovation through efficient collaborations with the information technology teams.