Hospital restructuring and downsizing: Effects on nursing staff well-being and perceived hospital functioning (original) (raw)
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Hospital restructuring and nursing staff well-being: the role of personal resources
2001
This study examined the role played by two personal resources, job mobility options and financial resources, among nursing staff during a period of major hospital restructuring and downsizing. Data were collected from 1362 staff nurses using questionnaires. Personal resources were hypothesized to have direct and indirect effects on job satisfaction and psychological well-being in a model of hospital restructuring and its effects. The model included four variables: extent of hospital restructuring, future threats to the workplace, job satisfaction, and psychosomatic symptoms. LISREL analyses indicated that financial resources reduced perceptions of future workplace threats and psychosomatic symptoms while job mobility options were associated with higher levels of job satisfaction.
International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 2003
The study purpose was to assess the evidence on the effects of hospital restructuring that included layoffs, on nurses who remained employed, using a systematic review of the research literature to contribute to policy formation. Papers addressing research, hospital restructuring resulting in layoffs, effects on nurses, and a stated relationship between the independent and dependent variables were included. Data were extracted and the quality of each study was assessed. The final group of included studies had 22 empirical papers. The main effects were significant decreases in job satisfaction, professional efficacy, ability to provide quality care, physical and emotional health, and increases in turnover, and disruption to healthcare team relationships. Nurses with fewer years of experience or who experienced multiple episodes of restructuring experienced greater effects. Other findings remain inconclusive. Further research is required to determine if these effects are temporal or c...
The psychological effects of organizational restructuring on nurses
Journal of Advanced Nursing, 2006
Aim. This paper reports a comparison of nurses affected by the restructuring associated with healthcare organization mergers (1998–2000) in the United Kingdom and those of non-affected nurses in the UK.Background. Restructuring, a feature of healthcare organizations for decades, has been associated internationally with negative outcomes for nurses. Despite this, no model to evaluate management of change factors and psychological stress processes has been operationalized and tested.Method. A sample of 351 Registered Nurses was recruited from southern England. Participants either worked in organizations that were within 6 months of merging or were not affected by mergers. On two occasions, 6 months apart, all were sent a questionnaire that had been formulated for the study. Questions related to the parts of the model being tested: restructuring initiatives (i.e. stressors) information and participation, coping action, and coping effectiveness (i.e. outcomes). The data were collected between 1998 and 2000.Findings. Nurses affected by mergers reported statistically significantly higher restructuring initiatives before and after an event than non-affected nurses. Moreover, up to 12 months after an event some affected nurses reported lower information and participation, and lower coping effectiveness (i.e. higher job insecurity, job stress, job pressure, lower job satisfaction, physical, psychological, and environmental quality of life) than non-affected nurses, which was consistent with the model's proposals. However, there was no difference between affected and non-affected nurses’ coping action.Conclusion. The psychological effects of restructuring are linked with perceptions of low information and participation, and with negative outcomes for nurses. Managers, therefore, need to communicate information and encourage staff to participate in decisions about restructuring events.