The Mediating Effect of Empowerment on the Relationship between Communication Ability and Nursing Performance in Psychiatric Nurses

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the mediating effect of empowerment on the relationship between psychiatric nurses’ communication ability and nursing performance. Methods: Relationships among the subjects' communication ability, empowerment, and nursing performance were identified by Pearson's correlation coefficients. The mediating effect of the empowerment between communication ability and nursing performance was analyzed based on the Baron and Kenny approach using multiple regression with the SPSS/WIN 24.0 program. Results: There was a direct relationship between the nurses' communication ability and nursing performance while caring for psychiatric patients. The empowerment had a partial significant mediating effect between communication ability and nursing performance. Conclusion: It is necessary to develop empowering intervention for psychiatric nurses with poor communication ability and low performance.