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.