Communication, advice exchange and job satisfaction of nursing staff: a social network analyses of 35 long-term care units

Abstract

BackgroundThe behaviour of individuals is affected by the social networks in which they are embedded. Networks are also important for the diffusion of information and the influence of employees in organisations. Yet, at the moment little is known about the social networks of nursing staff in healthcare settings. This is the first study that investigates informal communication and advice networks of nursing staff in long-term care. We examine the structure of the networks, how they are related to the size of units and characteristics of nursing staff, and their relationship with job satisfaction.MethodsWe collected social network data of 380 nursing staff of 35 units in group projects and psychogeriatric units in nursing homes and residential homes in the Netherlands. Communication and advice networks were analyzed in a social network application (UCINET), focusing on the number of contacts (density) between nursing staff on the units. We then studied the correlation between the density of networks, size of the units and characteristics of nursing staff. We used multilevel analyses to investigate the relationship between social networks and job satisfaction of nursing staff, taking characteristics of units and nursing staff into account.ResultsBoth communication and advice networks were negatively related to the number of residents and the number of nursing staff of the units. Communication and advice networks were more dense when more staff worked part-time. Furthermore, density of communication networks was positively related to the age of nursing staff of the units. Multilevel analyses showed that job satisfaction differed significantly between individual staff members and units and was influenced by the number of nursing staff of the units. However, this relationship disappeared when density of communication networks was added to the model.ConclusionsOverall, communication and advice networks of nursing staff in long-term care are relatively dense. This fits with the high level of cooperation that is needed to provide good care to residents. Social networks are more dense in small units and are also shaped by characteristics of staff members. The results furthermore show that communication networks are important for staff's job satisfaction.

Job Satisfaction in Relation to Communication in Health Care Among Nurses: A Narrative Review and Practical Recommendations

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“…This social network is important for the dissemination of information. Social networks are advantageous for people's career and job performance (van Beek et al, 2011;Wagner et al, 2015).…”

“…Van Beek distinguishes three types of social networking in an organization: communication, consulting, and trust networks (van Beek et al, 2011). The communication network consists of employees who regularly discuss work-related issues.…”

Professional advice for primary healthcare workers in Ethiopia: a social network analysis

“…Given the Ethiopian healthcare delivery context is very hierarchical the existence of informal advice networks is a noteworthy nding. Similarly, a study of Dutch nurses in a long-term care facility found advice networks to be non-hierarchical, although they only looked within one cadre [54]. In studies of inter-professional communication hierarchy is common [7,34,[55][56][57][58].That said, the reliance on informal advice networks may be a product of infrequent supportive supervision visits and review meetings Advice exchange varied by cadre, but universally there was more advice exchanging between cadres than within cadres.…”

High‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry technology in the analysis of Chinese Medicine Formulas: A bibliometric analysis (1997–2015)

“…The thickness of line implies the number of co-occurrence frequency of these herbs. The numbers of lines indicate the density of the relationship among these herbs, and the tense areas indicate more communications and strong cohesion of the network on the unit [34,[62][63][64][65][66][67]. As shown, the connection among gardenia jasminoides ellis, rhizoma corydalis, Panax ginseng, ligusticum, Fructus aurantii immaturus, Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Ophiopogon japonicus, Cassia twig and Bupleurum Chinense, etc.…”