Public psychiatric services: job satisfaction evaluation.
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.
Ishara
Sergio
S
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
Bandeira
Marina
M
Zuardi
Antonio Waldo
AW
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