Job satisfaction and attitudes towards nursing care among nurses working at Mzuzu Central Hospital in Mzuzu, Malawi.

BACKGROUND: Job satisfaction is a major determinant of performance at the workplace. Studies have shown that job dissatisfaction can intensify emotional exhaustion, and this can influence nurses to perceive their work as tiresome and repetitive, leading to frustration and discouragement. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between job satisfaction and attitude towards nursing care at Mzuzu Central Hospital in Mzuzu, Malawi.

METHODS: This was a descriptive correlational study. Eighty-nine nurses were selected using simple random sampling. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Data were analysed using Stata (version 12). Frequencies, means, and standard deviations were used to summarise sociodemographic data and also to determine job satisfaction and attitudes towards nursing care among the participants. Independent t-tests were used to determine if differences in professional qualifications, job title, work experience, or the clinical setting in which the nurses worked were associated with differences in job satisfaction and attitude. Pearson's product-moment correlation was used to determine the relationship between job satisfaction and attitude in the study sample.

RESULTS: The nurses who participated in this study generally had positive attitudes towards nursing care and were moderately satisfied with their jobs. There was a significant variation in attitude depending on the amount of time a nurse worked at a particular post (P = 0.0308), as well as the amount of time a nurse had worked at the hospital (P = 0.0012). There was a significant positive relationship between job satisfaction and attitude (r = 0.226, P = 0.033).

CONCLUSIONS: The nurses in the study sample were moderately satisified with their work and generally had positive attitudes towards nursing care. There was a positive correlation between attitude towards nursing care and job satisfaction. Addressing factors which dissatisfy nurses can promote nurses' attitudes and likely improve performance and patient care.