International Comparison of the Job Satisfaction of Nurses and Gross Domestic Product (GDP): A Systematic Review

Article type
Authors
Chiang L1, Chen S2
1School of Nursing, National Defense Medical Center
2School of International Business, College of Management, National Taiwan University
Abstract
Background: Job satisfaction of nurses is the degree to which a registered nurse is satisfied with the individual's job performance, job adjustment, and the practice environment in the nursing profession. Faced with an aging global population, the World Health Organization estimates that human resources for health care will be confronting the considerable threat. Nurses have gradually migrated to work in richer countries, which has resulted in a shortage of manpower in poor countries.

Objectives: Systematic review of the global job satisfaction of nurses around the world in this decade, and the relationship with per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2019.

Methods: A systematic review study design was conducted, and a total of 100 quantitative research results on the job satisfaction of nurses in various countries around the world were retracted. The means of job satisfaction of nurses were standardized for global comparison, and correlation with the per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of each country was analyzed.

Results: This systematic review and meta-analysis of nursing job satisfaction in the previous ten years (from 2009 to 2019) over 38 countries indicated that overall average job satisfaction of nurses is 64.185 (SD 8.29) among a total of 71,429 nurses. Correlation with the national per capita GDP showed a coefficient 0.374 (p = 0.021). Deleting higher scores in Laos, 37 countries also showed a higher significant correlation coefficient of 0.440 (p = 0.006). The results indicated that the higher the national per capita GDP, the higher the job satisfaction of nurses in the country. Nineteen Taiwan studies showed an overall average job satisfaction of 67.82.

Conclusions: Nurses around the world showed medium job satisfaction, with nurses in Taiwan showing a slightly higher average satisfaction. This study found that nurses with higher overall economic status in the country have higher job satisfaction. Improvement in the country's overall economic strength, development health policies, and a high-quality working environment for nurses can increase their job satisfaction, increase their willingness to stay and reduce turnover rates, thereby could ensure the universal health coverage (UHC) and quality of health care for people internationally.

Patient or healthcare consumer involvement: No