Influence of leadership on quality nursing care.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent to which nursing leadership, perceived by nursing staff, influences nursing quality. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: Data were collected between August and October 2011 in a Portuguese health center via a questionnaire completed by nurses. Our original sample included 283 employees; 184 questionnaires were received (65% response). FINDINGS: The theoretical model presents reasonably satisfactory fit indices (values above literature reference). Path analysis between latent constructs clearly suggests that nursing leadership has a direct (beta = 0.724) and statistically significant (p = 0.007) effect on nursing quality. ORIGINALITY/VALUE Results reinforce several ideas propagated throughout the literature, which suggests the relationship's relevance, but lacks empirical support, which this study corrects.