Innovation, Wellness, and EBP Cultures Are Associated With Less Burnout, Better Mental Health, and Higher Job Satisfaction in Nurses and the Healthcare Workforce.

BACKGROUND

Staff shortages as well as poor nurse and clinician well-being are currently an epidemic within the health workforce and pose a substantial risk to healthcare quality and safety. Creating a strong wellness culture is one strategy to address the issue, but there is a paucity of research that investigates how other types of organizational cultures are related to nurses' mental health and well-being.

AIMS

To describe the relationships among innovation culture, wellness culture, evidence-based practice (EBP) culture, and clinician well-being (healthy lifestyle behaviors, burnout, depression, stress, anxiety, and job satisfaction).

METHODS

A cross-sectional descriptive correlational study design was used with a convenience sample of nurses, physicians, and allied health professionals from a Magnet-recognized health system in the United States. An online wellness survey collected data with the variables of interest using valid and reliable scales. Pearson's r correlations assessed the relationship among innovation culture, wellness culture, and EBP culture. A series of regressions examined if each type of culture was associated with clinician well-being.

RESULTS

The analytic sample included 199 respondents. Innovation culture had a strong and significant correlation (p ≤ 0.0001, r > 0.7) with both clinician well-being and EBP cultures. Wellness and EBP cultures also were correlated (p ≤ 0.0001, r = 0.592). Higher ratings of each type of culture were significantly associated with higher job satisfaction as well as higher ratings of both mental and physical health. Further, higher ratings on each culture scale were significantly associated with reduced stress, anxiety, depression, burnout, and job satisfaction.

LINKING EVIDENCE TO ACTION

This is the first study to establish correlations among innovation culture, EBP culture, and wellness culture as well as to find that these three types of cultures are associated with clinician well-being outcomes and job satisfaction. Since culture strongly impacts the healthcare workforce's mental health and job satisfaction, leaders need to focus on an organizational-wide strategic approach that builds a sustained culture that supports clinician well-being, innovation, and EBP.