Mediating Effect of Team Effectiveness of the Nursing Unit on the Nursing Work Environment and Patient-Centered Nursing: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background/Objectives: This study aimed to examine the mediating role of the team effectiveness of the nursing unit on the relationship between the nursing work environment and patient-centered nursing. Methods: This cross-sectional design enrolled 327 nurses working in general hospitals across South Korea. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire between July and October 2022. Mediation analysis was conducted using PROCESS Macro v3.5 for SPSS (Model 4), with bootstrap resampling (5000 samples) to assess the direct and indirect effects of the nursing work environment on patient-centered nursing. Results: The mean score for patient-centered nursing was 3.96 (maximum scored 5). Clinical experience, position, and hospital type were found to be significant general characteristics influencing patient-centered nursing. Both the nursing work environment (r = 0.522, p < 0.001) and the team effectiveness of the nursing unit (r = 0.569, p < 0.001) showed significant positive correlations with patient-centered nursing. Moreover, team effectiveness was found to mediate the relationship between the nursing work environment and patient-centered nursing (R2 = 0.39, F = 35.35, p < 0.001). Conclusions: These findings highlight the importance of organization-level strategies to enhance the nursing work environment and foster a team-based culture to improve patient-centered nursing.