Associations between job satisfaction, person-centredness, and ethically difficult situations in nursing homes-A cross-sectional study

Aim To explore the associations between job satisfaction and perceived person-centredness and ethically difficult situations among staff in nursing homes (NHs). Background Previous studies have indicated that person-centredness and few ethically difficult situations can contribute positively to NH staff's job satisfaction. However, empirical evidence of these associations is lacking. Design Cross-sectional survey design. Method Nursing home staff (N = 341) in six NHs in Australia, Norway, and Sweden completed the questionnaire measuring job satisfaction, person-centredness, and ethically difficult situations. Data were collected between April - June 2016. Univariate analysis was used to describe the sample, one-way analysis of variance examined differences between variables. Bivariate correlation tested the relationships between variables and hierarchical multiple regression explored the extent to which person-centredness and ethically difficult situations could explain job satisfaction among staff. Results After controlling for socio-demographic variables in a regression model, three variables of person-centredness and ethically difficult situations were significantly associated with job satisfaction. A climate of community contributed the most, followed by the amount of organizational and environmental support, a climate of everydayness, and few ethically difficult situations. Conclusion The results support the theoretical foundation and previous findings suggesting that establishing NHs organizations based on person-centredness will increase staff job satisfaction. However, this is a cross-sectional study and the causality may go in both directions and should be further explored.