Magnet4Europe Initiative

The Magnet4Europe study seeks to improve clinician mental health, wellbeing and patient safety and supports the International Partnership of some of the World’s Leading Universities. 

First Magnet4Europe International Partners Meeting in Leuven, Belgium, November 2019 First Magnet4Europe International Partners Meeting in Leuven, Belgium, November 2019

Led by KU Leuven, Belgium, and the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research at University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing in the US, Magnet4Europe is an evidence-based intervention backed by the successful Magnet Recognition Program ®, a voluntary hospital designation for nursing care excellence by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Over seventy hospitals from Belgium, England, Germany, Ireland, Sweden, and Norway will receive a full-blown redesign of their workplaces – supported by one-to-one twinning with an experienced Magnet recognized hospital and an annual learning collaborative. 

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and Brexit, Magnet4Europe is in its second year with 65 European hospitals in six European countries. Some of America’s best hospitals are twinned 1:1 with European hospitals to introduce Magnet® principles to improve hospital work environments. In Europe, the intervention is evaluated in a randomized trial with a lagged control group. U.S. Magnet hospitals are participating in one of the largest studies ever on the association of work environments with clinician wellbeing and patient outcomes.

Magnet4Europe Attributed Goals

  • Improve Work Environments

  • Improve Job Related Health Outcomes of Nurses and Physicians

  • Improve Patient Outcomes

Intervention

  • Magnet Blueprint and Gap Analysis Tool

  • One-to-one Twinning with US Magnet Hospitals

  • Learning Collaboratives

  • Critical Mass and Network Creation

  • Actionable Feedback Report

Participation

  • 73 EUROPEAN Hospitals across SIX Countries

  • 67 US Magnet Hospitals FROM COAST TO COAST

 

U.S. Participating Magnet Hospitals by Region

Participating Hospitals in Europe

Meet the M4E Directors

Prof. Linda H. Aiken, PhD, RN, FAAN, FRCN, Professor of Nursing, Professor of Sociology, Founding Director, Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA

“Hospitalized patients can only be assured safe and effective care when their nurses and physicians are able to perform at their best, and this requires healthy work environments.”

Prof. Walter Sermeus, PhD, MSc, RN,
Full Professor Leuven Institute for Healthcare Policy, Head of Management and Health Policy Programme Support, KU Leuven, Belgium

“Our research points to specific features of complex organizations that if modified can significantly improve the well being of health professionals and patients alike.”

Consortium Leaders

Belgium Team Leaders Belgium Team Leaders

  • Prof. Dr. Hans De Witte, Work Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Belgium 
  • Prof. Wilmar Schaufeli, Work and Organizational Psychology, Utrecht University, Netherlands; and, Distinguished Research Professor Leuven University. Belgium 

United Kingdom Team Leaders United Kingdom Team Leaders

Ireland Team Lead Ireland Team Lead

Germany Team Leaders Germany Team Leaders

  • Prof. Dr. med. Reinhard Busse, MPH FFPH, Department of Health Care Management Head, Economics and Management, Berlin University of Technology; Professor, The Charité, Berlin’s university hospital and Associate Head of Research Policy, Berlin, Germany
  • Julia Köppen, Department of Health Care Management, Master of Public Health, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany

Sweden Team Leaders Sweden Team Leaders

Team U.S.A.

  • Tim Cheney, Analyst, Center for Health Outcomes & Policy Research, University of Pennsylvania, School of Nursing, Philadelphia, PA USA
  • Irene D. Hung, MPD, Administrative Director, Center for Health Outcomes & Policy Research, University of Pennsylvania, School of Nursing, Philadelphia, PA USA

  • Douglas M. Sloane, PhD, Methodologist, Center for Health Outcomes & Policy Research, University of Pennsylvania, School of Nursing, Philadelphia, PA USA
  • Herbert Smith, PhD, Professor of Sociology, Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA USA

Scientific Project Managers

  • Luk Bruyneel, PhD, MSc, Expert Scientific and Economic Matters at Mutualités Libres / Onafhankelijke Ziekenfondsen, and Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Public Health, KU Leuven, Belgium
  • Matthew D. McHugh PhD, JD, MPH, RN, FAAN, Independence Chair for Nursing Education, Professor of Nursing, Director, Center for Health Outcomes & Policy Research, University of Pennsylvania, School of Nursing, Philadelphia, PA USA