Nursing professional practice environment and its relationship with nursing outcomes in intensive care units: a test of the structural equation model.

INTRODUCTION

Burnout, intention to leave and ultimately shortage of skilled nurses are associated with poor practice environments; however, in Iran comprehensive data are unavailable. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between the nursing professional practice environment with nurses' burnout and intention to leave in intensive care units, using structural equation modelling analysis.

METHODS

This cross-sectional, multi-centred study was conducted among 320 nurses in twenty ICUs of five teaching hospitals affiliated with Shiraz University of Medical Sciences from September 2018 to June 2019. Valid measurement instruments including Nursing Professional Practice Environment Questionnaire (NPPEQ), Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and Anticipated Turnover Scale (ATS) were used for data collection.

RESULTS

Goodness-of-fit statistics confirmed a model with burnout dimensions in mediating positions between nursing professional practice environment dimensions and intention to leave, explaining 86.4% of the variation.

CONCLUSION

The results confirmed a theoretical model with structural the relationships among the nursing professional practice environment, burnout and intention to leave in nurses working in ICUs. In this model, burnout had a strong direct positive effect on intention to leave. The results can provide guidance for various stakeholders, such as health policymakers and nurse managers attempting to improve the quality of nurses' workplace, by drawing their attention to various factors influencing the retention of technically trained nurses in the critical care units.