Job satisfaction of rural public and home health nurses

Based on Vroom's expectancy theory, this study was conducted to identify differences in job satisfaction between nurses working in public health settings, and staff nurses and administrators working in both settings. Questionnaires containing an adaptation of a job satisfaction scale were mailed to all 258 registered nurses practicing in public health and home health settings (response rate 57%) in a rural midwestern state. Respondents were asked to rate their satisfaction with various dimensions of their jobs, as well as how important each aspect was to them. Although both groups of nurses reported low satisfaction with salary, public health nurses were significantly less satisfied with their salaries than were home health nurses (F = 32.96, P < or = 0.001); home health nurses, however, were significantly less satisfied with benefits/rewards (F = 11.85, P < or = 0.001), task requirements (F = 8.37, P < or = 0.05), and professional status (F = 5.30, P < or = 0.05). Although administrators did not differ significantly from staff nurses on job satisfaction, they did perceive organizational climate (F = 4.50, P < or = 0.05) to be an important feature of satisfaction. These differences may be partially explained by divergent salaries, roles, and responsibilities between public health and home health nurses.