NEWARK, N.J. - Two Rutgers College of Nursing faculty members are conducting a study to explore for the first time the association between the nursing work environment and nurse reported outcomes in dialysis centers.

The $75,000 study, funded by the American Nephrology Nurses Association (ANNA), will explore how workplace factors influence positive patient and nurse outcomes.

A survey will be sent out to 2,000 ANNA member registered nurses practicing in dialysis centers across the United States in September. The study will be conducted by Linda Flynn assistant professor, and Charlotte Thomas-Hawkins, assistant professor, at the College of Nursing at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

"The survey will be approximately nine pages long and ANNA members will be asked about their work environment and staffing levels," said Flynn, Center Valley, PA resident. "We will particularly look at nurse-reported patient and adverse events, such as needle stick injuries, as well as nurse burnouts and patient falls."

"Since nurses are in the front line of patient care, their reports regarding the work environment and frequency of adverse events are considered important indicators of the processes and outcomes of care," explained Thomas-Hawkins, a Burlington, N.J. resident. "Enhancement of health outcomes among renal dialysis patients is a national priority. Using this survey methodology, this survey will be the first to explore the associations between the nursing work environment and nurse-reported patient outcomes in dialysis centers."