Abstract

Healthy work environments are a critical component of quality patient care, nurse satisfaction, and organizational effectiveness. In an attempt to provide supports for those in leadership positions to enable evidence-based management decision making for quality care, a major professional association developed six foundational healthy work environment best practice guidelines. These guidelines enable evidence-informed management decision making in the areas of leadership, teamwork, professionalism, workload and staffing, cultural diversity in the workplace, and workplace health safety and well being, and facilitate clinical excellence. In 2005 a 4 year pilot project was commenced to evaluate the impact of implementing HWE BPGs on selected units/teams in nine health care organizations. The study demonstrated the profound impact that a focus on creating a healthy workplace by leaders and staff can have on key outcomes related to aspects of each of the HWE BPGs. The research showed that implementing HWE BPGs made a difference for nurses in their perceptions of the work environment, quality of care, and ease of use of the HWE BPGs in a sustained way over time, and reinforced the critical role of leadership at all levels in creating healthy workplaces. In this presentation, the HWE BPG program elements will be highlighted, as will the nature of the comprehensive research undertaken to determine the impact of HWE BPGs on key nurse and organizational variables. Finally key findings related to the impact of HWE BPG implementation, the leadership factor, and effective knowledge transfer strategies in creating healthy work environments will be shared.

Description

41st Biennial Convention - 29 October-2 November 2011. Theme: People and Knowledge: Connecting for Global Health. Held at the Gaylord Texan Resort & convention Center.

Author Details

Irmajean Bajnok, RN, PhD; Sara White; Linda O'Brien Pallas RN, MScN, PhD

Sigma Membership

Unknown

Lead Author Affiliation

Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Type

Presentation

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

N/A

Research Approach

N/A

Keywords:

Healthy Work Environments, Quality Nurse Outcomes, Evidence-based Management Decision Making

Conference Name

41st Biennial Convention

Conference Host

Sigma Theta Tau International

Conference Location

Grapevine, Texas, USA

Conference Year

2011

Rights Holder

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All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.

All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Acquisition

Proxy-submission

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Healthy work environment best practices: Supporting leaders in evidence-based management decision making towards clinical nursing excellence

Grapevine, Texas, USA

Healthy work environments are a critical component of quality patient care, nurse satisfaction, and organizational effectiveness. In an attempt to provide supports for those in leadership positions to enable evidence-based management decision making for quality care, a major professional association developed six foundational healthy work environment best practice guidelines. These guidelines enable evidence-informed management decision making in the areas of leadership, teamwork, professionalism, workload and staffing, cultural diversity in the workplace, and workplace health safety and well being, and facilitate clinical excellence. In 2005 a 4 year pilot project was commenced to evaluate the impact of implementing HWE BPGs on selected units/teams in nine health care organizations. The study demonstrated the profound impact that a focus on creating a healthy workplace by leaders and staff can have on key outcomes related to aspects of each of the HWE BPGs. The research showed that implementing HWE BPGs made a difference for nurses in their perceptions of the work environment, quality of care, and ease of use of the HWE BPGs in a sustained way over time, and reinforced the critical role of leadership at all levels in creating healthy workplaces. In this presentation, the HWE BPG program elements will be highlighted, as will the nature of the comprehensive research undertaken to determine the impact of HWE BPGs on key nurse and organizational variables. Finally key findings related to the impact of HWE BPG implementation, the leadership factor, and effective knowledge transfer strategies in creating healthy work environments will be shared.