Predicting patient satisfaction with nurses' call light responsiveness in 4 US hospitals

This multihospital study determined the contributors to patient/family satisfaction levels with nurses' call light responsiveness and compared the reasons for call light usage as perceived by patients and nurses.

Delayed responses to answering call lights may result in a patient falling and can affect patient satisfaction.

This cross-sectional survey study was conducted from September 2008 to November 2009 in 4 US hospitals; 1,253 patients/family participants and 988 nurses were surveyed. Descriptive and multiple regression analyses were conducted.

Women, older patient/family participants, and those who perceived that nurses often answered call lights in person, that their problems were resolved after pushing the call light, and that their call lights less frequently involved safety issues were more satisfied with nurses' responsiveness. The top 5 reasons for using call lights were the same for patients and nurses.

Nursing administrators should emphasize increasing staff's call light responsiveness.