The Study of the Relationship between Financial Payments of the Nurses and Patient Satisfaction in Selected Hospitals in Isfahan in 2010

Introduction: Nursing care is one of the most highly available services in the hospitals and forms an important aspect of patient satisfaction. Salaries and wages are important motivators for nurses at work. Thus, this study is aimed at examining the relationship between financial payments of the nurses and patient satisfaction in selected hospitals in Isfahan in 2010. Methods: This is a descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study in which all nurses and patients in selected wards in selected hospitals were included. In this study, 200 patients were selected based on sampling methods and the salaries of all nurses were used to calculate the mean. Data were collected by a checklist and a researcher-made questionnaire. The validity of the questionnaire was verified by management professionals. Descriptive and inferential statistics (one-way ANOVA, t-test and Pearson correlation) were used. The SPSS software was used (Ver.16) to analyze the results. Results: The rate of satisfaction in private and charity hospitals is more than that in public hospitals and it is more in CCU and obstetrics unit. The nurses' salaries were negatively correlated with the patient satisfaction. The correlation was not meaningfully significant in any of the hospitals but it was meaningfully significant in all units except CCU. Conclusion: The mean of patient satisfaction was lowest in public hospitals while it was highest in charity hospitals. The mean of salaries in charity hospitals was half of that in public hospitals. There were several factors that could have an impact on nurses' satisfaction which could indirectly affect their pay.