Home Health Care Nurses’ Job Satisfaction: A System Indicator

Abstract

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.