Effectiveness of the leadership development program and empowerment strategies in patient safety

Objective: The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a multi-faceted program that would contribute to the safety climate, authentic leadership, and nurse empowerment. Method: The study was carried out in two stages, methodological and quasi-experimental. In the first stage, surveys comprising samples of 434 and 382 nurses from three different hospitals in İzmir conducted to examine the psycholinguistic and psychometric characteristics of the Safety Climate Survey and Authentic Leadership Questionnaire. The intervention phase was with a single group pretest-posttest design. The program included thirty-six nurse managers and 153 nurses. In data analyses, repeated-measures ANOVA, paired-samples t-test, and hierarchical regression analyses used. Results: Intraclass correlation coefficients revealed that scales have good time stability. For internal consistency, Cronbach's alpha scores indicated good and item-total correlations acceptable level. The confirmatory factor analyses showed a satisfying fit for both scales. In terms of program effectiveness, there were significant differences in mean scores of safety climate and authentic leadership for the nurse managers. Additionally, there were significant differences in the mean scores of structural and psychological empowerment for nurses. Significant predictors were authentic leadership and structural empowerment for safety climate. Conclusion: The questionnaires satisfied the criteria of validity and reliability characteristics in the Turkish nurse population. Regarding the effectiveness of the program, it was particularly influential for nurses, while the effects on nurse managers were limited. To better show the influences of the program studies with control groups, in larger samples involving all management levels and other healthcare disciplines can be planned. Key Words: Authentic Leadership, Empowerment, Nurse, Program, Safety Climate.