Exploring the Relationship Between Nurse Empowerment and Patient Satisfaction Scores in Hospitals

Posted: Jun 08, 2023

• Tessa Lawson
• Vivian Greene
• Graham Ortiz

Abstract

The relationship between healthcare workforce conditions and patient outcomes represents a critical area of inquiry in medical informatics and healthcare management. While previous research has established correlations between nurse staffing levels and patient satisfaction, the specific mechanisms through which nurse empowerment influences patient experience remain inadequately understood. Traditional approaches to studying this relationship have relied heavily on self-reported survey data and linear statistical models, which fail to capture the complex, multi-dimensional nature of empowerment and its non-linear effects on patient satisfaction metrics. This research addresses significant gaps in the literature by developing and applying a novel computational framework that integrates multiple data sources and analytical techniques to examine the empowerment-satisfaction relationship. Our approach moves beyond conventional methodologies by incorporating natural language processing of nurse communication patterns, network analysis of professional relationships, and machine learning algorithms to model complex interactions. The study was guided by three primary research questions: How do different dimensions of nurse empowerment interact to influence patient satisfaction outcomes? What are the critical thresholds in empowerment levels that trigger significant changes in patient satisfaction scores? How can computational methods provide more nuanced insights into this relationship than traditional statistical approaches? The theoretical foundation of this work draws from organizational behavior theory, computational social science, and healthcare informatics. We conceptualize nurse empowerment as a multi-faceted construct encompassing structural empowerment (access to resources, information, and support), psychological empowerment.