A great deal of recent research has focused on the relationship between nurse staffing and patient outcomes, while little addresses the nursing work environment. Quality Work Environments for Nurse and Patient Safety seeks to bridge this research gap by presenting a comprehensive, critical review and analysis of the literature for the ten variables that impact the nursing work environment, and ultimately, patient safety. “Quality” worklife settings for nursing are those that emphasize workplace safety, personal satisfaction, teamwork, a reasonable workload, and adequate physical surroundings. Each chapter explores a specific indicator, the instruments used to measure it, and the reliability and validity of each, then makes recommendations regarding the strength of the evidence linking the indicator to nurse, system, and patient outcomes. The chapters close by outlining the implications and future research.
Quality Work Environments for Nurse and Patient Safetyaddresses key areas of concern in nursing work environments, such as leadership, workload, productivity—all of which are front-page issues at the practice, systems, and policy levels.