Organized participation in nursing: A test of the civic voluntarism model

Interest in how nursing can develop a cadre of politically competent nurses has been of increasing concern to nurse leaders and educators over the past decade. The American Nurses\u27 Association (ANA), which has long represented the profession\u27s political interests and served as a training ground for political leadership development, has experienced a steady decline in membership to less than 10% of all nurses. This has presented a troubling issue to the profession. This study was designed to provide predictive statistical information about the variables that affect a nurse\u27s decision to participate in ANA. Based on a review of literature and application of the civic voluntarism model (Verba, Schlozman, and Brady, 1995), seven research questions were generated to gather information on which CVM variables are most strongly associated with a nurse\u27s decision to belong: resources, psychological engagement, or recruitment. A researcher-designed instrument was administered by random sampling to 68 ANA members and 68 non-ANA members living in Nebraska. After the advance mailing and questionnaire mailing, there was a follow-up mailing which yielded a final response rate of 72%. A descriptive analysis of questionnaire items that used Likert scales or categorical responses was conducted; multiple discriminant analysis was used to predict variables related to membership; and a t-test was used to determine significant differences between members and non-members. This information was reported in a series of tables interpreted by written narrative. The study found that the civic voluntarism model accurately predicted membership 64% of the time. Resources proved to be the most accurate predictor of membership (61%), while psychological engagement was the second most accurate predictor (60%). The least accurate predictor was recruitment. Statistically significant differences were found to indicate members had a greater sense of self-efficacy, more free time, higher levels of partisanship, and increased interest. These findings were generally consistent with the review of literature and with the CVM model. Several recommendations concerning how to improve membership recruitment by the professional association were made based on the findings and on the review of literature