Health Workers' Job Satisfaction and Its Relationship With the Perception of Quality by Patients in a Mental Health Institution

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the relationship between health workers' job satisfaction and the perception of quality by patients in a mental health facility in Puerto Colombia, Colombia.

METHODS: The research was quantitative, retrospective, transversal, descriptive, and correlational. The instrument used by the healthcare institution was the patient satisfaction survey based on Resolution 256/2016 with a CI of 95% and the S21/26 questionnaire for workers with an alpha of 0.90. The institution provided the Microsoft Excel databases used in the research. Data analysis and instrument results were performed in STATGRAPHICS PLUS® and R_CRAN programs.

RESULTS: 8,875 patients were treated during the study year, and a sample of 3,520 patients was taken. The highest percentage was in women 62% [p = 0.000] and the average age of both sexes was 48±18 years (p:0.0000), both values with great significance. In age groups, greater significance was obtained in the Youth group (p: 0.0022) and Mature Adult (p: 0.0120). Regarding outpatient consultation and hospitalization, the degree of satisfaction was greater than 80%. For the 38 employees, the salary is directly related to the care process, while the type of contract, age, and sex of the employees don´t impact the degree of job satisfaction. The overall satisfaction of the internal client was 85.3%, being lower for the healthcare staff with 79.8%. Finally, the degree of satisfaction of the external client regarding the healthcare area was 76.01%, while for the internal client, it was 50% for the healthcare staff. The analysis of simple correspondence with workers shows marked dissatisfaction in healthcare staff members.

CONCLUSIONS: The correlational analysis shows a directly proportional relationship between job satisfaction and patient satisfaction (correlation value of 1 with a p-value of 0.000). Therefore, a good work environment, remuneration, and working conditions are the determining factors in the satisfaction of internal clients.