Organizational Silence among Hospital Nurses in China: A Cross-Sectional Study

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the factors that contribute to organizational silence among Chinese nurses. METHODS: A descriptive, comparative, and cross-sectional study was performed with the participation of 866 nurses from public hospitals in China. The data were collected using an online questionnaire that included sociodemographic information and a silence scale. RESULTS: The overall level of organizational silence among nurses was moderate (51.35 ± 14.99). Nurses indicated that they remained silent about administrative (2.97 ± 1.10) and organizational topics (2.94 ± 1.11) yet were more vocal about matters related to responsibility (1.68 ± 0.86), honor (1.87 ± 0.95), and enthusiasm (2.07 ± 0.99). Moreover, data analysis demonstrated that department, educational status, professional title, years of employment, and employment status had effects on nurses' organizational silence (p < .05). CONCLUSION: This study provides information that could facilitate an understanding of organizational silence for both nurses and nursing managers. The results helped to identify the urgent need to adopt effective strategies to address the problem of nurses' organizational silence. Changes in management practices and organizational culture should be implemented to remove communication and other barriers that impede nurses' contributions to their organizations.