Association Between Psychological Empowerment and Intent to Stay Among Military Hospital Nurses: The Mediating Effects of the Practice Environment and Burnout

ABSTRACT Aims To explore the impact of psychological empowerment on nurses' intent to stay in military hospitals as well as the mediating effects of the practice environment and burnout in this context. Design This study employed a cross‐sectional survey approach and followed the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines for reporting. Methods A total of 1225 nurses from nine military hospitals were recruited via convenience sampling. Questionnaires were distributed and collected via the Questionnaire Star platform. The study variables, including psychological empowerment, the practice environment, burnout and intent to stay, were assessed via self‐report questionnaires. SPSS 23.0 software was used to conduct descriptive and correlation analyses. Additionally, PROCESS Model 6 was employed to examine the mediating effects. Results Psychological empowerment is positively associated with nurses' intent to stay. Mediation analysis revealed that the practice environment, burnout and the chain mediating effect of the practice environment and burnout accounted for 54.5%, 2.8% and 1.5% of the total effect respectively. Conclusion Psychological empowerment affects nurses' intent to stay not only directly but also indirectly via the practice environment and burnout. Implications for the Profession Nursing managers may consider utilising psychological empowerment as a management strategy to enhance nurses' perceived practice environment, reduce burnout and ultimately increase nurses' intent to stay. This approach has the potential to lower turnover rates among nurses. Patient or Public Contribution Questionnaires completed by nurses were used to explore the relationships among psychological empowerment, the practice environment, burnout and intent to stay in this context.