Nurses’ professional practice environment in Brazilian university hospitals: a multicenter cross-sectional study

Objective  To analyze and compare the professional practice environment of nurses in three university hospitals in Brazil and verify possible associations with sociodemographic and professional variables.

Methods  Multicenter, cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach, carried out with a total of 427 nurses from three university hospitals in the south and southeast regions of Brazil, using the Nursing Work Index Revised (NWI-R). For data analysis, we used descriptive and inferential statistics.

Results  The means of the NWI-R and its subscales of the three institutions were less than 2.5. The mean in the subscale “Autonomy” in the hospital in Rio Grande do Sul (2.25) is higher when compared to the mean in the hospital in Sao Paulo (2.01), and the mean in the subscale “Physician-Nurse Relations” in the hospital in Rio Grande do Sul (2.30) is higher than the other means (SP mean: 1.99 and SC mean: 2.09).

Conclusion  It is concluded that the environment of the investigated institutions is favorable to the professional practice of nurses, as they have autonomy, control over the environment, good relationships with physicians and organizational support. The perception of the practice environment is related to working time and intention to leave the job.

Working environment; Health facility environment; Hospitals, university; Nurses