Healthcare-associated infections: infection prevention and control within the Accreditation Canada Qmentum Program.

Gardam, Lemieux, Reason, van Dijk and Goel argue that healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are "a pressing and imminent concern in the context of patient safety." Accreditation Canada supports the position taken by these authors. The prevention and control of two HAIs of great concern, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium difficile, are an integral part of the Accreditation Canada program.

Empowerment, engagement and perceived effectiveness in nursing work environments: does experience matter?

Aims: We examined the impact of empowering work conditions on nurses' work engagement and effectiveness, and compared differences among these relationships in new graduates and experienced nurses.

Background: As many nurses near retirement, every effort is needed to retain nurses and to ensure that work environments are attractive to new nurses. Experience in the profession and generational differences may affect how important work factors interact to affect work behaviours.

Strengthening the value of accreditation: Qmentum - one year later.

Accreditation is recognized as one of the most effective ways for health services organizations to systematically examine and improve the quality of their services. Accreditation Canada released the Qmentum accreditation program in February 2008. This article outlines the progress made during the first year of implementation, discusses the current challenges and provides insight into what lies ahead.

Leader empowering behaviours, staff nurse empowerment and work engagement/burnout.

Efforts to improve nursing working conditions are critical to retaining nurses currently in the system and attracting newcomers to the profession (Laschinger et al. 2003b). The nurse leader's empowering behaviours can be pivotal in the way nurses react to their work environment.

The impact of staff nurse empowerment on person-job fit and work engagement/burnout.

Workplace empowerment is an important strategy for creating positive nursing work environments in a time of a severe nursing shortage. The purpose of this study was to test a model linking staff nurse perceptions of empowerment to their perceived fit with 6 areas of work life and work engagement/burnout using Kanter's work empowerment theory. We tested the model in a cross-sectional correlational survey design with a random sample of 322 staff nurses in acute care hospitals across Ontario.

Performance reporting: alignment with accreditation.

This paper reviews the strong relationship of performance measurement and reporting with the Canadian Council on Health Services Accreditation (CCHSA) accreditation program and consistency with the direction of ongoing development. The CCHSA authors discuss the issue of public reporting of the accreditation results, the impact of public reporting on accreditation, aligning accreditation with the public reporting requirements, the measurement framework, quality improvement results and reporting and the linkage of accreditation with accountability. As public reporting gains momentum, the accreditation program must align to enable this while protecting the fundamental integrity and value of the program.

Leadership's role in patient/client safety: are we doing enough? An accreditation perspective.

National and international literature, research, and experience have led to the identification of patient/client safety as a healthcare issue requiring immediate attention. Recent Canadian reports have suggested that the Canadian Council on Health Services Accreditation (CCHSA) has a responsibility in an integrated approach to improving patient/client safety.