The mental health care context and patient characteristics: Implications for provider job satisfaction

Abstract

This research examines job satisfaction among 282 staff providing mental health care to 574 patients with serious mental illness. The mental health staff worked in 18 Department of Veterans Affairs inpatient and outpatient mental health care units at 12 Veterans Affairs Medical Centers located across the contiguous 48 states. The purpose was to identify (1) aspects of the health care context that were associated with provider job satisfaction and (2) administrative and organizational procedures/interventions that might sustain or improve provider job satisfaction. The association of provider job satisfaction with patients' functional status and symptom severity was tested in multilevel statistical models that accounted for provider and unit characteristics. Provider job satisfaction was found to be greater on smaller units and units with higher patient functioning and lower illness severity. Implications of these results are discussed.

Managed Care and Provider Satisfaction in Mental Health Settings

“…Findings also indicate that satisfaction with patient relationships is higher for providers in smaller hospital units where caseloads (patient/provider ratio) may be smaller, enabling the development of a deeper relationship with patients (Bingham et al 2002;Farley 1994). However, patients in these units often had less severe disabilities and higher functioning than those in larger units, so social contact and interaction with clinical staff was enhanced.…”

“…However, patients in these units often had less severe disabilities and higher functioning than those in larger units, so social contact and interaction with clinical staff was enhanced. Other provider characteristics, such as education and position tenure, did not affect the patient relationship dimension of satisfaction (Bingham et al 2002).…”

“…Generally, we know that psychiatrists, social workers, psychiatric nurses, and clinical psychologists are experiencing high levels of burnout, turnover, and general dissatisfaction with their jobs (Acker 1999;Farley 1994;Onyett and Pillinger 1997;Reid et al 1999;Sturm 2001). In addition, mental health providers in hospitals are complaining about having little time to establish a therapeutic relationship with patients, while those in the community are frustrated with the lack of resources to treat persons with severe and long-term psychiatric problems (Bingham et al 2002;Blankertz and Robinson 1997). What is unclear from these studies is whether managed behavioral health care intensifies the negative job satisfaction trends reported in the earlier behavioral health literature and in managed primary care settings.…”

Ze zijn zo lief, meneer: etnische schoolcompositie en de jobsatisfactie van leerkrachten

“…ook in ander Ze zijn zo lief, meneer. Etnische schoolcompositie en de jobsatisfactie van leerkrachten onderzoek echter wordt er maar weinig variantie in jobsatisfactie op het organisatieniveau (voorbeeld: 6% bij Bingham et al 2002) of schoolniveau (voorbeeld: 3,59% bij Van houtte 2006) gevonden. onderzoek naar verwante fenomenen zoals professioneel welbevinden stelt eveneens maar weinig variantie op het schoolniveau vast (voorbeeld: 4,6% bij Aelterman et al 2007).…”