Date of Conferral

3-25-2026

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Nursing

Advisor

Patricia Senk

Abstract

Nursing leadership in Belize is lacking but crucial to the well-being of patients, families, and the healthcare team. The purpose of this non-experimental, descriptive, comparative study was to a) determine the difference in leadership self-efficacy for current nurse leaders with three years or less of leadership experience compared to current nurse leaders with more than three years of leadership experience in Belize, and b) examine the differences in leadership self-efficacy between nurses in a leadership position and nurses not in a leadership position in Belize. The theories supporting the study were Burns’ transformational leadership theory and leadership self-efficacy, based on Bandura’s health belief model. The Leadership efficacy Questionnaire was administered to 47 nurse leaders actively working in acute care, clinical or behavioral health settings in Belize then analyzed with an independent t test. Results indicated no statistically significant differences between current nurse leaders with 3 years or less of leadership experience and those with more than 3 years of leadership experience, or between nurses in a leadership position and those not in a leadership position. A recommendation for future research would be to obtain a larger sample while maintaining the various cultural groups and to conduct a qualitative study in which nurses and leaders can express their lived experiences. The results may be used to enhance the quality of nurse leaders’ lives within their teams and may promote positive social change by informing strategies to improve leadership self-efficacy.

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