The functionality of unit practice councils and its relationship with nurses' accountability: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Aim: This study aimed to examine the relationship between perceived unit practice councils' functionality and nurses' accountability in Saudi Arabia. Design: A descriptive, correlational and cross-sectional design was used. Methods: Convenience sampling of 160 nurses working in multiple sites of a large, tertiary medical centre in Saudi Arabia was performed. Structured self-administered questionnaires were used to measure perceived unit practice council functionality and levels of nurse accountability. Results: Nurses perceived that unit practice councils had moderate levels of functionality; however, nurses had high levels of accountability. Also, perceived unit practice councils' functionality had a significant positive relationship with nurses' accountability (r = 0.49, p < 0.001). More studies are needed to investigate the impact of different shared governance models on nurses' work environments.