Psychometric Evaluation of Instruments Measuring the Work Environment of Healthcare Professionals in Hospitals: a Systematic Literature Review

Overview

Journal Int J Qual Health Care

Publisher Oxford University Press

Specialty Health Services

Date 2020 Jul 11

PMID 32648902

Citations 9

Authors

Susanne M Maassen

Anne Marie J W Weggelaar Jansen

Gerard Brekelmans

Hester Vermeulen

Catharina J van Oostveen

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Purpose: Research shows that the professional healthcare working environment influences the quality of care, safety climate, productivity, and motivation, happiness, and health of staff. The purpose of this systematic literature review was to assess instruments that provide valid, reliable and succinct measures of health care professionals' work environment (WE) in hospitals.

Data Sources: Embase, Medline Ovid, Web of Science, Cochrane CENTRAL, CINAHL EBSCOhost and Google Scholar were systematically searched from inception through December 2018.

Study Selection: Pre-defined eligibility criteria (written in English, original work-environment instrument for healthcare professionals and not a translation, describing psychometric properties as construct validity and reliability) were used to detect studies describing instruments developed to measure the working environment.

Data Extraction: After screening 6397 titles and abstracts, we included 37 papers. Two reviewers independently assessed the 37 instruments on content and psychometric quality following the COSMIN guideline.

Results Of Data Synthesis: Our paper analysis revealed a diversity of items measured. The items were mapped into 48 elements on aspects of the healthcare professional's WE. Quality assessment also revealed a wide range of methodological flaws in all studies.

Conclusions: We found a large variety of instruments that measure the professional healthcare environment. Analysis uncovered content diversity and diverse methodological flaws in available instruments. Two succinct, interprofessional instruments scored best on psychometrical quality and are promising for the measurement of the working environment in hospitals. However, further psychometric validation and an evaluation of their content is recommended.

Citing Articles

Nursing Practice Environments in Hospitals: A Comparative Study between Portugal and Brazil.

Ribeiro O, Perondi A, Gomes J, Ventura-Silva J, Ribeiro M, Castro S Nurs Rep. 2024; 14(4):2910-2922.

PMID: 39449449 PMC: 11503261. DOI: 10.3390/nursrep14040212.

The impact of the nurse practice environment, workload, and professional support on job outcomes and standards of care at primary health care clinics in South Africa: A structural equation model approach.

Ditlopo P, Rispel L, Van Bogaert P, Blaauw D Int J Nurs Stud Adv. 2024; 7:100241.

PMID: 39351496 PMC: 11440313. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijnsa.2024.100241.

The Nurse Perceived Adequacy of Staffing Scale for general hospital wards: A development and psychometric validation study.

van der Mark C, Bitter J, Hendriks P, Vermeulen H, Oostveen C Int J Nurs Stud Adv. 2024; 5:100138.

PMID: 38746572 PMC: 11080495. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijnsa.2023.100138.

Systematic RADaR analysis of responses to the open-ended question in the Culture of Care Barometer survey of a Dutch hospital.

Maassen S, Spruit-van Bentvelzen L, Weggelaar-Jansen A, Vermeulen H, Oostveen C BMJ Open. 2024; 14(4):e082418.

PMID: 38626955 PMC: 11029257. DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-082418.

Measuring the work environment among healthcare professionals: Validation of the Dutch version of the Culture of Care Barometer.

Maassen S, van Oostveen C, Weggelaar A, Rafferty A, Zegers M, Vermeulen H PLoS One. 2024; 19(2):e0298391.

PMID: 38421985 PMC: 10903908. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0298391.

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