Empowerment in nursing: A systematic review of Its association with patient safety culture (15 April 2026)

Summary

Empowerment in nursing is increasingly recognised as an important determinant of patient safety culture as the primary outcome, with patient safety activities reported as secondary outcomes where applicable. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to synthesise the evidence on the association between nursing empowerment and patient safety culture and to examine whether different types of empowerment were associated with variation in effect estimates. 

Overall, nursing empowerment was associated with better patient safety culture, but the magnitude and consistency of this association varied across empowerment types and study contexts.