title: One big happy family? Interdisciplinary variation in job satisfaction among hospice providers.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Job satisfaction is particularly important in the hospice industry, given the emotional and interpersonal challenges that hospice staff face in providing care to patients near the end of life and their families. However, little is known about the job satisfaction of hospice providers, or about variation in satisfaction among disciplines.
  
  
  METHODS
  Staff at participating hospices completed the Survey of Team Attitudes and Relationships (STAR) using an online user interface. The STAR has 6 domains that comprise 45 items.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Results were submitted for 8,495 staff from 177 hospices in 41 states. The mean total score was 28 on a 0-100 scale (range, 0-100; interquartile range, 8-45) and hospice-level scores ranged from 15 to 44. Nonclinical staff (n = 3260) and clinical staff (n = 5235) had similar total scores (28 for both). Among clinical staff, in a mixed effects model adjusting for individual and hospice characteristics, physicians had the highest total scores (adjusted mean 42; 95% confidence interval: 35-46) compared to chaplains (30; 28-33), bereavement coordinators (27; 24-30), nurses' aides (29; 27-33); nurses (26; 28-33), and social workers (25; 23-26).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is significant variation in job satisfaction both among hospices and disciplines.
authors.affiliation: Center for Bioethics, Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. casarett@mail.med.upenn.edu
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Casarett
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Spence
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haskins
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Teno
mesh_terms: D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D017051:Hospice Care; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008297:Male; D010348:Patient Care Team; D000078329:Workforce