Correlates of structural empowerment, psychological empowerment and emotional exhaustion among registered nurses: A meta-analysis

Objective: To conduct a meta-analysis on the relationship between structural empowerment, psychological empowerment and burnout for registered nurses. Methods: Cross-sectional studies that focused on the correlation between burnout, structural empowerment and psychological empowerment of nurses from 1990 to date were searched in Cochrane Library, Web of Science, BMJ, Elsevier, PubMed and CNKI databases. Two reviewers conducted critical appraisal, and extracted correlation coefficient (r) values. Tests of heterogeneity (Q-statistic) were performed to investigate the effect sizes. Result Twenty-four studies met the inclusion criteria. For registered nurses, the results of the meta-analysis indicated that there were weak relationship between structural empowerment and emotional exhaustion (r = -0.2450). In addition, there was a low correlation between structural empowerment and emotional exhaustion (r = -0.4301). However, a moderate relationship was seen between structural empowerment and psychological empowerment (r = 0.5717). Conclusion: These results are considered useful guides for hospital managers and nursing professionals in formulating policies and regulations aimed at decreasing emotional exhaustion among nurses.