Empowering organizational contexts: patterns and predictors of perceived decision-making influence among staff in nursing homes.

To examine staff members' self-perceived influence on decision making, data were collected from 498 staff in 51 nursing homes. Distinct patterns of perceived staff influence emerged for decisions related to direct resident care and those involving the personnel providing the care. Process variables, including nurse assistant involvement in shift report, frequency of unit staff meetings, and administrators' decision-making autonomy from the governing board, were significant predictors of individual and aggregate levels of perceived staff influence. Structural characteristics, including ownership type, number of beds in the facility, and number of facilities owned by the parent corporation were also related to staff's assessment of their decision-making influence.