Work environment and workforce problems: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey of hospital nurses in Belgium

Dec 3, 2005International journal of nursing studies

Work Conditions and Staffing Issues Among Hospital Nurses in Belgium

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Abstract

A total of 9,638 valid responses were analyzed from Belgian hospital nurses regarding their work environment and job satisfaction.

Nurses expressed a strong commitment to providing quality care despite facing multiple barriers in their work environment.
Concerns about leadership quality, insufficient staffing, and time demands were identified as significant obstacles to delivering good nursing care.
Approximately 39.2% of nurses indicated they would not choose nursing as a career again.
More than 54.3% of nurses reported having contemplated leaving the profession at some point.

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OBJECTIVES: This study investigated Belgian hospital nurses' perceptions on work environment and workforce issues, quality of care, job satisfaction and professional decision making.

METHODS: All eligible nurses in a selection of 22 hospitals received the BELIMAGE questionnaire for a total of 13,958 potential respondents. Of these, 9941 returned study materials (response rate=71.2%) of which 9638 were valid and useable for statistical analysis (valid response rate=69.1%).

RESULTS: The study identified several areas of tension in the nursing profession. The commitment to being competent providers of quality care was remarkably strong among the nurses, but they also perceived the barriers in the work environment to be multiple and complex. Concerns about the quality of leadership and management, insufficient staff, time demands and stressful work environment are experienced as obstacles in providing good nursing care. Four out of ten nurses (39.2%) would not choose nursing again as a career and more than half of the nurses (54.3%) have contemplated leaving the profession at some point in time.

CONCLUSIONS: To effectively tackle the professional and workforce issues in nursing, investments should focus on redesigning a work environment that supports nurses in providing comprehensive professional care.

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Work environment and workforce problems: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey of hospital nurses in Belgium

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