title: Public psychiatric services: job satisfaction evaluation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the satisfaction of health-care professionals in inpatient and outpatient psychiatric hospitals of a Brazilian medium-sized city.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study evaluated 136 health-care professionals from six hospitals; of which two were outpatient hospitals, two general hospitals, and two psychiatric hospitals. All professionals answered the Brazilian Mental Health Services' Staff Satisfaction Scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  An average satisfaction score of 3.26 was observed, which is situated between indifference (level 3) and satisfaction (level 4). Factors "service quality" (3.48) and "relationships at work" (3.48) showed higher scores compared to "service participation" (3.20) and "work conditions" (2.97) (p < 0.001). The female patient unit in the psychiatric hospital presented lower satisfaction scores (p < 0.001). Satisfaction was higher in the category "technicians" compared to "physicians" and "nurses" (p = 0.004). Moreover, day workers reported higher satisfaction compared to night workers regarding "service quality" and "service participation" (Student's t, p = 0.01 and p = 0.007).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results show an intermediate level between indifference and satisfaction with services, with higher scores regarding care provided to the patients. Comparisons among the studied facilities revealed the numerous factors involved in determining one's satisfaction. They suggest advancements and reform measures likely to occur in the region's psychiatric health-care services. Monitoring satisfaction proved useful in predicting service quality improvements.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. ishara@hcrp.fmrp.usp.br
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ishara
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bandeira
authors.forename: Antonio Waldo
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Zuardi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001938:Brazil; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008297:Male; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000592:standards*; D008875:Middle Aged; D016272:Occupational Health; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D017132:Workplace; D055815:Young Adult