title: Empowerment and its effects on clinical nurses in central China.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Chinese healthcare institutions have undergone constant changes in recent years. A large number of research studies conducted on work-related factors revealed that nurses in China experienced a low level of job satisfaction and a high level of turnover intention. Empowerment is one of the most important concepts in nursing and is most relevant to the study of nursing professionals' job-related outcomes.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to test the Job Characteristics Model and the mediating role of structural empowerment on the relationships between the job characteristics and work-related outcomes among clinical nurses from central China.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three self-reported questionnaires were administered to a sample of 238 clinical nurses from two hospitals in central China. The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation analysis and multiple linear regressions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Correlations were significant between job characteristics and job-related outcomes, and the estimated model on the effect of empowerment reduced the unique contribution of job characteristics on internal work motivation (from 17.2% to 13.0%) and general job satisfaction (from 13.4% to 10.1%), and eliminated the unique contribution of job characteristics on growth satisfaction (from 18.4% to 0%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results supported the Job Characteristics Model in a nursing sample and empowerment mediated the impact of job characteristics on internal work motivation and general job satisfaction partially and on growth satisfaction completely.
authors.affiliation: Hope School of Nursing, Wuhan University Professor, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: C F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.forename: Z K
authors.initials: ZK
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yeh
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002322:Career Mobility; D002681:China; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D016014:Linear Models; D008875:Middle Aged; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology*; D011209:Power, Psychological; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires