Learning Objective #1: Develop a greater understanding of the work environment variables that have an impact on nursing and patient outcomes

Learning Objective #2: Examine the impact that an intervention designed to improve the quality of nurses’ worklife can have on nurse and patient outcomes

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This study aimed at evaluating the impact of an intervention to improve the quality of nurses' work life on nursing and patient outcomes in inpatient care settings in 8 community and teaching hospitals in Ontario, Canada. A repeated measures longitudinal research design was used. Sixteen medical surgical patient care units from within 8 randomly selected hospitals participated in the study. Data were obtained from 980 nurses and 1,137 patients. The nurse outcome variables examined included job satisfaction, work quality, quality of care, nursing leadership, role tension and job stress. The patient outcome variables examined included activities of daily living; therapeutic self-care; patient satisfaction; and patient judgement of hospital quality. This research outlines how the workload intervention designed to improve the quality of nurses' work life influenced nurse and patient outcomes. Nurses reported statistically significantly higher levels of work quality, job satisfaction, role tension, perceptions of unit nursing leadership and job stress following participation in the intervention. As well, casual nurses reported higher levels of job satisfaction than those employed full-time or part-time, and baccalaureate nurses experienced higher levels of job stress. Finally, nurses in teaching hospitals reported higher levels of satisfaction than those employed in community hospitals. The study results provide important information on the influence of interventions to improve nurses' work life on outcomes. The implications of these findings for nurses and the nursing profession will be discussed.