Home health nurses: stress, self-esteem, social intimacy, and job satisfaction

Home Health Care Nurses’ Job Satisfaction: A System Indicator

The home health care industry has recently undergone tremendous change. How providers of care are adapting to the changes in their environment and the effect this has on nurses’ job satisfaction has not been explored. Nurses’ job satisfaction provides an indicator of a change in the system’s ability to deliver quality patient care and to attract and retain staff. The purpose of this study is to describe the level of job satisfaction of home health care nurses in three regions of the country. Neal’s theory of becoming a home health nurse was used as a framework for understanding the findings. Nurses in this study were satisfied with aspects of their job related to professional autonomy, relationships with patients and peers, and a sense that their work is worthwhile and important. They are less satisfied with their relationship to administration and their ability to effect changes in the system.

A Japanese version of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale: translation and equivalence assessment

OBJECTIVE

A Japanese version of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) was developed through the forward-backward translation procedure.

METHODS

Married couples consisting of a native English speaker and a native Japanese speaker acted as translators to enhance the representativeness of language in the target population. Multiple translations were produced, and a panel of reviewers identified problems in conceptual and semantic equivalence between the original scale and the translated version. The Japanese version was altered accordingly with reference to alternate Japanese forms from the original English to Japanese translations. The altered translation was again retranslated into English, and problematic differences were checked. This forward-backward process was repeated until satisfactory agreement had been attained. The RSES was administered to 222 native English speakers, and the developed Japanese version (RSES-J) was administered to 1320 native Japanese speakers.

RESULTS

Factor analysis revealed nearly identical factor structure and structural coefficients of the items between two sets of data. Target rotation confirmed the factorial agreement of the two scales in different cultural groups. High Cronbach's alpha coefficients supported the reliability of test scores on both versions.

CONCLUSION

The equivalence between the RSES and the RSES-J was supported in this study. It is suggested that the RSES and the RSES-J are potential tools for comparative cross-cultural studies.

Agencies MAKE A DIFFERENCE in Home Healthcare Nurse??? job Satisfaction

The purpose of this study was to explore the factors that contribute to variability in home healthcare nurses' job satisfaction. Nurses completed the 30-item Home Healthcare Nurses Job Satisfaction Scale specifically designed to measure job satisfaction of home healthcare nurses. Results suggest that the greatest amount of variability in satisfaction for home healthcare nurses are salary and benefits, stress and workload, and organizational factors, that is, factors over which organizations and management have the most control.

Home Healthcare Nurses' Job Satisfaction Scale: refinement and psychometric testing

AIMS

This paper describes a study to further develop and test the psychometric properties of the Home Healthcare Nurses' Job Satisfaction Scale, including reliability and construct and criterion validity.

BACKGROUND

Numerous scales have been developed to measure nurses' job satisfaction. Only one, the Home Healthcare Nurses' Job Satisfaction Scale, has been designed specifically to measure job satisfaction of home healthcare nurses. The Home Healthcare Nurses' Job Satisfaction Scale is based on a theoretical model that integrates the findings of empirical research related to job satisfaction.

METHODS

A convenience sample of 340 home healthcare nurses completed the Home Healthcare Nurses' Job Satisfaction Scale and the Mueller and McCloskey Satisfaction Scale, which was used to test criterion validity. Factor analysis was used for testing and refinement of the theory-based assignment of items to constructs. Reliability was assessed by Cronbach's alpha internal consistency reliability coefficients. The data were collected in 2003.

RESULTS

Nine factors contributing to home healthcare nurses' job satisfaction emerged from the factor analysis and were strongly supported by the underlying theory. Factor loadings were all above 0.4. Cronbach's alpha coefficients for each of the nine subscales ranged from 0.64 to 0.83; the alpha for the global scale was 0.89. The correlations between the Home Healthcare Nurses' Job Satisfaction Scale and Mueller and McCloskey Satisfaction Scale was 0.79, indicating good criterion-related validity.

CONCLUSIONS

The Home Healthcare Nurses' Job Satisfaction Scale has potential as a reliable and valid scale for measurement of job satisfaction of home healthcare nurses.

A theoretical model of job retention for home health care nurses

BACKGROUND

Predicted severe nursing shortages and an increasing demand for home health care services have made the retention of experienced, qualified nursing staff a priority for health care organizations.

AIMS

The purpose of this paper is to describe a theoretical model of job retention for home health care nurses.

METHODS

The theoretical model is an integration of the findings of empirical research related to intent to stay and retention, components of Neal's theory of home health care nursing practice and findings from earlier work to develop an instrument to measure home health care nurses' job satisfaction.

DISCUSSION

The theoretical model identifies antecedents to job satisfaction of home health care nurses. The antecedents are intrinsic and extrinsic job characteristics. The model also proposes that job satisfaction is directly related to retention and indirectly related to retention though intent to stay. Individual nurse characteristics are indirectly related to retention through intent to stay. The individual characteristic of tenure is indirectly related to retention through autonomy, as an intrinsic characteristic of job satisfaction, and intent to stay.

CONCLUSIONS

The proposed model can be used to guide research that explores gaps in knowledge about intent to stay and retention among home health care nurses.

The relationship of job satisfaction with organizational variables in public health nursing

OBJECTIVE

This study examined the relationship of the organizational variables of structure, technology, and environment with job satisfaction among public health nurses in a southeastern state.

BACKGROUND

There is little research on the characteristics of the work environment that influence nurses to remain in the public health work setting. Prior research in this setting has focused on the negative aspects of the nursing positions. These aspects of least desirability for the public health nurse provide only a partial view of job satisfaction. To decide and plan specific strategies, the nurse administrator must have valid and useful information about the positive aspects of job satisfaction of public health nurses.

METHODS

The researchers distributed a questionnaire to all licensed nursing personnel employed by a state public health department. Data collection consisted of four tools: 1) structure instrument; 2) technology instrument; 3) environmental uncertainty instrument; and 4) McCloskey-Mueller Job Satisfaction Scale (MMSS). The sample of 838 public health nurses (response rate of 50.6%) included representation from all 13 districts and the central office of the public health department.

RESULTS

Significant relationships were found between job satisfaction and the demographic variables of nurse category (registered nurse and licensed practical nurse) and years of experience with the public health department. The critical variable for predicting job satisfaction in this group of public health nurses was organizational structure (vertical participation, horizontal participation, and formalization). Dimensions of structure accounted for 41% of the variance in job satisfaction. Structure remained the critical predictor of job satisfaction, although the findings do not suggest a conclusive model. The three dimensions of technology (instability, variability, and uncertainty) and environmental uncertainty assumed significance only in concert with each other or with the dimensions of structure.

CONCLUSIONS

This study contributes to nursing management theory by examining the relationship of organizational structure, technology, and environmental uncertainty with job satisfaction in public health nurses. This research also has implications for nurse administrators in public health for creating more flexible work environments and facilitating staff involvement in decision making.

Home health nurses: stress, self-esteem, social intimacy, and job satisfaction

A survey of 253 home health care nurses' perceptions of work-related stress, self-esteem, social intimacy, and job satisfaction found that stress has a negative correlation with self-esteem, social intimacy, and job satisfaction. A positive correlation, however, was found between self-esteem and social intimacy and job satisfaction. Health system administrators, owners, and directors had significantly higher levels of self-esteem, nurses with 5 years or more in their home health nursing position had significantly higher levels of self-esteem. The survey found that nurses with less than a baccalaureate degree possessed significantly lower levels of sociability than those with a graduate or baccalaureate degree. Administrators and managers scored significantly higher on sociability than head nurses.