2026 CASE MANAGEMENT RESEARCH AWARD
PROJECT TITLE: Validation of the Practice Environment Scale-Nursing Work Index for Measuring Hospital Case Management Practice Environment
RECIPIENT: Kristen Berryman, MSN, RN, CCM
CATEGORY: Case Management Staffing
ABSTRACT: The Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index (PES-NWI) is widely used to measure the practice environment across nursing populations. Case management is a specialty focused on care coordination to meet the clinical and financial goals of medically and socially complex individuals across the care continuum. Despite its importance, limited research exists on the hospital case management practice environment, and no instrument currently
measures this concept. This study aimed to adapt and validate the psychometric properties of a hospital case management version of the PES-NWI. The primary practice setting was acute care hospitals where case managers practice.
RESULTS / OUTCOMES: Participants included case managers working in 34 states. Most were female (92%) from the nursing discipline (79%) and social work (21%). Nearly 60% held case management certification, and 40% had over 10 years of experience in the field of case management. Factor analysis revealed a four-factor structure with items cleanly loading between 0.44 and 0.74. The four factors represented Supportive and Participatory Leadership, Staffing and Resource Adequacy, Opportunities for Professional Development, and Fostering Teamwork and Collaboration. The factor structure of the adapted instrument differs from that of the original PES-NWI, indicating a need for further testing. Nevertheless, the adapted instrument demonstrates strong internal consistency (overall Cronbach’s alpha of 0.93) and item-to-total correlations from 0.37 to 0.80
The adapted instrument, Practice Environment Scale for Hospital Case
Management, the first to measure the hospital case management practice environment, demonstrates adequate reliability and validity. It provides a critical foundation for future research and supports the development of evidence-based strategies to enhance hospital case management practice. Understanding this environment is crucial for advancing workforce
development, enhancing professional satisfaction, and maximizing the impact of case management in acute care settings.