The meaning of empowerment within Italian nursing care settings.

AIM: To examine the current state of empowerment of nurses in Italy. BACKGROUND: Empowerment is a broad concept that is also relevant to the field of nursing practice. Its comprehension and use are important because empowerment allows nurses to take control of their own practice. A clear understanding of empowerment is necessary for nurses to take advantage of this important tool. DESIGN: Focus groups were conducted. METHODS: A literature review was performed, and two focus groups were selected between January and February 2014. RESULTS: Sixteen nurses participated in the research. Empowerment is seen as being strongly connected to autonomy and is not associated with power, as the word itself suggests. Italian nurses define empowerment as the creation of conditions that help to establish the possibility for people to develop and express their value and potential. CONCLUSIONS: Empowerment is defined as a condition in which the individual nurse takes control of his/her own practice and thereby provides awareness and confidence to a group. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Italian nurses need to feel appreciated and supported by their own organisations. If warranted, empowerment would allow them to contribute to enhance care, which is the core of the nursing profession.

[Structural empowerment and job satisfaction among nurses coordinators: a pilot study]. / Empowerment strutturale e soddisfazione sul lavoro tra gli infermieri coordinatori: uno studio pilota.

INTRODUCTION: In literature, the structural empowerment and the job satisfaction have been studied in many different work settings but more need to be done in the setting of Head Nurses. OBJECTIVE: The goal of the study is to evaluate the structural empowerment level of head nurses and if it impacts on the job satisfaction. METHODS: A cross sectional design study was used. We enrolled 125 head nurses from three different hospitals of Rome. To collect the data we used a questionnaire that included both a part of the collection of sociopersonal data and the two scales (job satisfaction and structural empowerment). We used the SPSS19.0 statistical Software for data analysis to detect significant results. RESULTS: Head Nurse declared to be not enough satisfied at work (mean=3.43) and their structural empowerment level resulted moderate (mean=3.16). The structural empowerment of head nurses impacts their job satisfaction especially concerning opportunities for social and professional interactions, praises, awards, audit and responsibilities. CONCLUSIONS: Results underline structural empowerment relevance in head nurses job satisfaction. Healthcare organizations need to address job satisfaction to improve quality of care and more specifically that of head nurses since they directly impact on nurses job satisfaction.

[Emotional Leadership: a survey on the emotional skills expressed by nursing management]. / La leadership emozionale: indagine conoscitiva sulle competenze emozionali espresse dai ruoli manageriali infermieristici.

INTRODUCTION: The emotional leadership applied to nursing management is a new topic in the Italian nursing literature, but of great interest internationally. There is a close correlation between nursing leaders with a well-developed emotional intelligence and nurses working well-being. SCOPE: This study investigates knowledge about the emotional leadership and emotional competence in nursing management. METHODS: The survey was conducted using a questionnaire devised for the purpose, validated and administered to 130 managers, head nurses and nurses in a hospital in Rome. RESULTS: Analysis of data shows a great interest in the subject. 90% of the sample showed that it is essential for managerial roles, be aware and able to manage their own and others' emotions to generate wellbeing at work. Emotional competencies are considered important just as theoretical, technical and social skills to a effective leadership on nursing. CONCLUSIONS: This study is one of the first Italian survey on the importance of the development of emotional intelligence in nursing leadership to improve wellbeing at work. Results of the survey should be confirmed by further studies. The emotional skills could be improved in nursing education programs and used as a yardstick for the nursing managers selection.

Quality of life for caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease.

AIM: This paper is a report of a study to describe the meaning of quality of life for caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease and to identify factors that affect their quality of life. BACKGROUND: The burden for informal caregivers and change in their quality of life can lead to patients being placed in nursing homes. Factors found to worsen caregivers' quality of life include strained finances, poor family functioning, difficult patient behaviour, financial burdens and the amount of time caregivers spend caring for family members with Alzheimer's disease. METHOD: A hermeneutic phenomenological design was used to study 32 informal caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease. Data were collected using interviews between November 2004 and June 2005. FINDINGS: Caregivers associated good quality of life with serenity, tranquility, psychological well-being, freedom, general well-being, good health and good financial status. Factors that caregivers said improved their quality of life were good health of the patient, independence from the patient, and more help in caregiving. Factors that worsened their quality of life were worries about the future and progression of the patient's illness and stress. CONCLUSION: Our findings may help healthcare professionals have a deeper understanding of the meaning caregivers give to quality of life and thereby aid in the design of strategies to maintain or improve quality of life. Intervention research is needed for caregivers in countries where this has not yet been performed. Researchers should also investigate whether different types of caregivers (spouse, adult child and friend) have different needs or problems.