Nurses’ perspectives on readiness of organizations for change: a comparative study

Figures & data

Table 1 Significant differences in sample demographics (N=130)

Variables	Nurses in government hospitals (n=75)		Nurses in private hospitals (n=55)		Chi-square^b	Sig.
	n^a	%	n^a	%
Marital status					71.73, 1 df	0.001
Single	26	34.7	24	43.6
Married	49	65.3	31	56.4
Shift work					150.38, 3 df	0.001
Day	51	68.0	36	69.2
Evening	2	2.7	–	–
Night	3	4.0	–	–
Rotating	19	25.3	16	30.8
Time commitment					41.14, 1 df	0.001
Full-time	52	71.2	47	88.7
Part-time	21	28.8	6	11.3
Level of education					74.41, 2 df	0.001
Diploma	30	40.0	5	9.0
Baccalaureate	40	53.3	47	85.5
Master	5	6.7	3	5.5
Age					76.23, 4 df	0.001
Less than 25 years	18	24.3	12	21.8
25–34 years	38	51.4	22	40.1
35–44 years	18	24.3	7	12.7
45–54 years	0	–	13	23.6
55 years and more	0	–	1	1.8
Years of experience in nursing					189.24, 2 df	0.001
Less than 1 year	72	96.0	45	81.8
1–2 years	2	2.7	10	18.2
3–4 years	1	1.3	–	–
Average daily census					82.76, 4 df	0.001
1–5 patients	9	12.1	4	7.5
6–10 patients	13	17.5	6	11.1
11–15 patients	5	6.7	17	31.5
16–20 patients	11	14.8	6	11.1
More than 20 patients	36	48.9	21	38.8
Hospital’s financial situation					91.84, 3 df	0.001
Strong	17	23.0	28	51.9
Moderate	33	44.6	24	44.4
Poor	17	23.0	–	–
Unclear	7	9.4	2	3.7
Dominant changes that influence hospitals					189.50, 2 df	0.001
Health financing issues	14	22.2	13	23.6
Fluctuating census	9	12.5	4	7.3
Heavy workload	47	65.3	38	69.1

Notes:

a The total values for some categories do not equal the total number of nurses in government hospitals (n=75) or private hospitals (n=55) because of missing data;

b asymp. Sig (two sided).

Abbreviation: df, degrees of freedom.

Table 2 Means, SDs, and frequencies of nurses’ perceptions about readiness of hospitals for change in the whole sample (N=130)

Items	Nurses in the whole sample (N=130)
	$\overline{\text{x}}$	SD	1 (%)	2 (%)	3 (%)	4 (%)	5 (%)
The chief nursing officer has the authority to lead the nursing department	4.28	0.717	1.5	–	6.2	53.1	39.2
The organization supports the staff’s continuing education, re-education, and advancement to help bring about changes needed in patient care	3.93	0.860	1.5	5.4	14.6	54.6	23.9
The organization supports collaborative, multidisciplinary team approaches to patient care	3.79	0.877	4.6	1.5	18.5	60.8	14.6
The organization is visibly marketing its centers of excellence to the community it serves	3.57	1.24	11.2	6.4	20.8	36.8	24.8
The organization provides programs or forums for discussion of changes and trends in health care delivery	3.52	0.925	6.9	4.7	22.3	61.6	4.5
The staff in the organization is encouraged to be creative and to introduce innovations for improving patient care	3.51	1.00	5.4	11.5	19.2	53.8	10.1
Continuous quality improvement or total quality management approaches have been used to improve patient care within the organization	3.50	1.34	17.7	1.5	15.4	43.1	22.3
The organization uses or plans to use advanced practice nurses	3.45	1.16	13.8	1.5	21.5	51.5	11.7
Nursing is involved in decision making about staff mix	3.37	1.22	15.4	5.4	16.2	52.3	10.7
Nursing administration has developed a strategic plan for transforming nursing practice in the organization	3.33	1.27	16.9	6.9	13.1	51.5	11.6
Patient satisfaction data are regularly shared with the staff	3.23	1.11	9.2	15.4	27.7	38.5	9.2
The organization has developed a plan for expanding ambulatory care or enhancing the continuity of care	3.15	1.20	18.5	3.1	30.0	41.5	6.9
Nurses are included on all committees in the organization and are involved in policy development and strategic planning	3.00	1.32	23.8	6.2	25.4	35.4	9.2
Average	3.43	0.686

Abbreviation: SD, standard deviation.

Table 3 Differences in nurses’ perception of the readiness of hospitals for change based on the type of hospital (N=130)

Item	Nurses in the government hospitals (n =75)		Nurses in the private hospitals (n=55)		t-test^a	Sig.^b
	$\overline{\text{x}}$	SD	$\overline{\text{x}}$	SD
The organization provides programs or forums for discussion of changes and trends in health care delivery	3.52	0.963	3.52	0.878	0.045	0.964
Nursing administration has developed a strategic plan for transforming nursing practice in the organization	3.34	1.30	3.32	1.23	−0.086	0.931
The staff in the organization is encouraged to be creative and to introduce innovations for improving patient care	3.52	1.08	3.51	0.90	−0.063	0.950
Patient satisfaction data are regularly shared with the staff	3.29	1.11	3.14	1.12	−0.749	0.455
Continuous quality improvement or total quality management approaches have been used to improve patient care within the organization	3.54	1.34	3.45	1.34	−0.385	0.701
Nursing is involved in decision making about staff mix	3.41	1.22	3.32	1.23	−0.395	0.694
The organization has developed a plan for expanding ambulatory care or enhancing the continuity of care	3.31	1.17	3.18	1.24	0.224	0.823
The organization uses or plans to use advanced practice nurses	3.37	1.19	3.56	1.11	0.931	0.354
The organization supports the staff’s continuing education, re-education, and advancement to help bring about changes needed in patient care	3.92	0.850	3.96	0.881	0.283	0.778
Nurses are included on all committees in the organization and are involved in policy development and strategic planning	3.05	1.30	2.92	1.35	−0.532	0.596
The chief nursing officer has the authority to lead the nursing department	4.33	0.703	4.21	0.737	−0.869	0.372
The organization supports collaborative, multidisciplinary team approaches to patient care	3.93	0.722	3.60	1.02	−2.05	0.042
The organization is visibly marketing its centers of excellence to the community it serves	3.69	1.23	3.40	1.25	−1.303	0.195
Average	3.44	0.703	3.42	0.670

Notes:

a Equal variances are not assumed;

b sig. ( two tailed).

Abbreviation: SD, standard deviation.

Table 4 Differences in nurses’ perceptions about the readiness of hospitals for change based on the gender of nurses (N=130)

Item	Male nurses (n=43)		Female nurses (n=87)		t-test^a	Sig.^b
	$\overline{\text{x}}$	SD	$\overline{\text{x}}$	SD
The organization provides programs or forums for discussion of changes and trends in health care delivery	3.60	0.929	3.48	0.925	0.704	0.483
Nursing administration has developed a strategic plan for transforming nursing practice in the organization	3.37	1.25	3.23	1.28	0.213	0.832
The staff in the organization is encouraged to be creative and to introduce innovations for improving patient care	3.34	1.23	3.59	0.868	−1.18	0.240
Patient satisfaction data are regularly shared with the staff	3.30	1.14	3.19	1.09	0.508	0.613
Continuous quality improvement or total quality management approaches have been used to improve patient care within the organization	3.53	1.24	3.49	1.39	0.168	0.867
Nursing is involved in decision making about staff mix	3.41	1.23	3.35	1.21	0.271	0.787
The organization has developed a plan for expanding ambulatory care or enhancing the continuity of care	3.18	1.07	3.13	1.26	0.226	0.822
The organization uses or plans to use advanced practice nurses	3.18	1.33	3.58	1.05	−1.72	0.050
The organization supports the staff’s continuing education, re-education, and advancement to help bring about changes needed in patient care	4.02	0.886	3.89	0.849	0.778	0.439
Nurses are included on all committees in the organization and are involved in policy development and strategic planning	2.90	1.29	3.04	1.35	−0.575	0.567
The chief nursing officer has the authority to lead the nursing department	4.23	0.565	4.26	0.784	0.508	0.612
The organization supports collaborative, multidisciplinary team approaches to patient care	3.81	0.906	3.78	0.868	0.194	0.847
The organization is visibly marketing its centers of excellence to the community it serves	3.70	1.07	3.51	1.32	0.882	0.380
Average	3.34	0.875	3.48	0.572

Notes:

a Equal variances are not assumed;

b sig. (two tailed).

Abbreviation: SD, standard deviation.