Aims: Kanter's structural empowerment model was used to assess the influence of access to opportunities, resources, information and support on core burnout through global empowerment in a nursing sample in Portugal.
Background: The empowerment experience increases the levels of nursing professionals' satisfaction and performance preventing the emergence of burnout. However, the relationship between structural empowerment and burnout has been scarcely studied in Portugal.
Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional correlational study assessing a final sample of 297 participants (62.13% response rate, 63.64% women). Model fit and mediation test were examined using structural equation modelling (path analysis).
Results: Access to opportunities and access to support had direct impact, through global empowerment, on core burnout, whereas access to resources had both direct and indirect impact on core burnout.
Conclusions: The results validated the structural empowerment model and its application in nursing staff in Portugal.
Implications for nursing management: Professional training plans, the development of formal and informal support networks, and the availability of resources increase the levels of empowerment and decrease the likelihood of experiencing burnout in nursing professionals.
Keywords: Portugal; core burnout; nursing staff; structural empowerment.
© 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.