Practice environment as perceived by nurses in acute care hospitals in Sharjah and North Emirates

Aim: To explore nurses' perceptions of their practice environment in acute care hospitals in Sharjah and North Emirates in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Background: The health of the environment in which registered nurses' work is critical to nursing outcomes. The interest to examine the practice environment extended to the Gulf area which has a complex healthcare system including the UAE. Methods: The study used an exploratory descriptive design with a qualitative part using two focus group interviews. The sample size was 450 nurses selected through a random sampling method. A self-administered questionnaire including the Practice Environment Scale of Nursing Work Index (PES-NWI) was used. In addition, semi-structured interviews for two focus groups were done. Results: The results showed that UAE practicing nurses reported favorable perceptions of most aspects of their practice environment. Unfavorable perceptions were only reported for Staffing and Resource Adequacy. The analysis of focus group discussions resulted in different emerged themes such as Lack of Recognition and Career Promotion, and Nurses' Workload due to Paper and Administrative Work. Conclusions: The findings of this study suggest that strategic interventions are needed to secure adequate staff and resources and implement an effective system for evaluation of performance.