Measuring job satisfaction in residential aged care.
BACKGROUND
Staff satisfaction has received increasing recognition as an important factor influencing service quality and in particular the quality of residents' lives in residential aged care facilities, where staff typically have a long-term and close relationship with residents. Consequently, a valid and reliable instrument is required to assess staff satisfaction in this particular context.


OBJECTIVE
This paper aims to assess the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the Measure of Job Satisfaction (MJS) instrument when used in residential aged care facilities.


METHODS
A cross-sectional survey design was used to collect the required information, and a stratified random sampling method was utilized to select facilities. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to assess the factor structure of staff satisfaction via the MJS.


METHODS
Both high and low care residential aged care facilities in Western Australia.


METHODS
Nine hundred and eighty-three staff (including the Director of Nursing, manager, registered nurses, enrolled nurses, nursing assistants, and therapists) in 70 residential aged care facilities.


RESULTS
An acceptable five-factor (22-item) measurement model was derived. The Cronbach's alpha reliability levels range from 0.86 to 0.95. Convergent and discriminant validity are also satisfactory.


CONCLUSIONS
This investigation has confirmed that a modified MJS is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing staff satisfaction in residential aged care settings.
Chou
Shu-Chiung
SC
School of Public Health, Curtin University of Technology, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
Boldy
Duncan P
DP
Lee
Andy H
AH
D000368:Aged; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006707:Homes for the Aged / Q000592:standards*; D016852:Housing for the Elderly / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008960:Models, Psychological; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014904:Western Australia; D000078329:Workforce