Last update:
18-Nov-2020

OBJECTIVE Τo study the degree of implementation of evidence-based nursing leadership in Greek public hospitals.

METHOD A survey was conducted with a sample of 213 nurses working in two Greek public hospitals. The research tool used was the Greek version of the Implementation Leadership Scale (ILS), which is related to the leadership style of the head nurses. The scale consists of four dimensions: preventive leadership, informed leadership, supportive leadership, and persistent leadership. The demographic characteristics of the participants were recorded. Statistical analysis was conducted using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 25.0.

RESULTS The majority of the participants were women (90%). The total mean score of the participants on the ILS was 30±3, and the subscales: Preventive leadership, mean=8±1.6, informed leadership, mean=8±1.01, supportive leadership, mean=7.9±1.3 and persistent leadership, mean=7.5±1.03. These results showed that nursing supervisors present evidence of proactive, informed, supportive and persistent leadership. Significant positive association emerged between leadership and the implementation of cognition-based clues. In particular, the greater the knowledge of nursing leaders about evidence-based clinical care, the greater their preventive intervention and the more persistent they were in its implementation despite possible difficulties.

CONCLUSIONS The results of this study led to the conclusion that in the Greek hospitals studied, cognitive-based nursing leadership was applied, which was evaluated positively by the nurses. It is recommended that head nurses should apply this type of leadership in order to ensure the provision of high-quality care to patients.

Key words: Evidence-based leadership, Evidence-based practice, Greek hospitals, Nursing, Nursing leadership.