AIM: To develop, field test and analyse a social capital survey instrument for measuring the nursing work environment. BACKGROUND: The concept of social capital, which focuses on improving productive capacity by examining relationships and networks, may provide a promising framework to measure and evaluate the nurse work environment in a variety of settings. METHODS: A survey instrument for measuring social capital in the nurse work environment was developed by adapting the World Bank's Social Capital - Integrated Questionnaire (SC-IQ). Exploratory factor analysis and multiple regression analyses were applied to assess the properties of the instrument. RESULTS: The exploratory factor analysis yielded five factors that align well with the social capital framework, while reflecting unique aspects of the nurse work environment. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that the social capital framework provides a promising context to assess the nurse work environment. Further work is needed to refine the instrument for a diverse range of health-care providers and to correlate social capital measures with quality of patient care. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Social capital measurement of the nurse work environment has the potential to provide managers with an enhanced set of tools for building productive capacity in health-care organisations and achieving desired outcomes.
AIM: To develop, field test and analyse a social capital survey instrument for measuring the nursing work environment. BACKGROUND: The concept of social capital, which focuses on improving productive capacity by examining relationships and networks, may provide a promising framework to measure and evaluate the nurse work environment in a variety of settings. METHODS: A survey instrument for measuring social capital in the nurse work environment was developed by adapting the World Bank's Social Capital - Integrated Questionnaire (SC-IQ). Exploratory factor analysis and multiple regression analyses were applied to assess the properties of the instrument. RESULTS: The exploratory factor analysis yielded five factors that align well with the social capital framework, while reflecting unique aspects of the nurse work environment. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that the social capital framework provides a promising context to assess the nurse work environment. Further work is needed to refine the instrument for a diverse range of health-care providers and to correlate social capital measures with quality of patient care. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Social capital measurement of the nurse work environment has the potential to provide managers with an enhanced set of tools for building productive capacity in health-care organisations and achieving desired outcomes.
Authors: Mojgan Firouzbakht; Aram Tirgar; Abbas Ebadi; Hamid Sharif Nia; Tuula Oksanen; Anne Kouvonen; Mohammad Esmaeil Riahi Journal: Int J Occup Environ Med Date: 2018-10