Abstracts Health Sciences

Addressing Factors That Lead to Job Dissatisfaction Among U.S. Hospital Nurses and Poor Health Outcomes in Patients: An Integrative Review

by Folayan J Morehead

The purpose of this integrative review is to identify factors that lead to job dissatisfaction among nurses working in U.S. hospitals and learn how patients experience poorer health outcomes as a result. Many factors including inadequate staffing, workplace bullying, violence, low pay, and hostile working conditions within hospital systems influence nurses’ intent to leave and affect the care quality provided to patients. In turn, the poorer care delivery leads to unsafe working conditions and thus poorer health outcomes in patients. Along with job dissatisfaction, nurses often feel the effects of moral distress and burnout which lessens their resilience. Nurses comprise a large part of the healthcare care delivery system and are often considered the backbone of the hospitals. Nurse leaders need to identify the negative factors and work toward change in addition to implementing new strategies to improve working conditions, retain and recruit quality staff, and strengthen patient health outcomes.