Research Article

The Relationship between Nurses’ Work Environment Characteristics, Job Performance and Patients’ Satisfaction with Nursing Care

Number: 30 August 31, 2026
EN TR

The Relationship between Nurses’ Work Environment Characteristics, Job Performance and Patients’ Satisfaction with Nursing Care

Abstract

Aim: This research aimed to examine the relationship between nurses’ work environment characteristics, their job performance and patients’ satisfaction with nursing care.

Method: A cross-sectional, descriptive and correlational design was used. The study included 367 nurses working in internal medicine and surgical wards across three training and research hospitals in Istanbul, along with 538 inpatients. Participants were selected using a proportional quota sampling method. Data from nurses were collected using the Nurse Information Form, the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index and the Task Performance Scale. Patient data were obtained using the Patient Information Form and the Newcastle Satisfaction with Nursing Care Scale. Descriptive statistics, intergroup comparison tests and correlation analyses were applied to examine the relationships among variables.

Results: Nurses’ perceptions of their work environment were slightly above average while their self-reported job performance and patients’ satisfaction with nursing care were high. Patients’ satisfaction was higher in units where nurses worked an average of ≤45 hours per week, the nurse-to-bed ratio was ≤2 and nurses cared for ≤18 patients per shift (p<0.05). However, no significant correlations were found between nurses’ perceived work environment, their job performance and patients’ satisfaction with nursing care (p>0.05).

Conclusion: This study identifies work-related characteristics of nurses that influence patients’ satisfaction with nursing care and provides useful findings for hospital administrators to improve patients’ satisfaction. It is recommended that administrators who wish to increase patients’ satisfaction ensure that the average weekly working hours of nurses, the nurse-to-bed ratio and the average number of patients cared for per shift are within ideal limits.

Keywords

Supporting Institution

This research did not receive any specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

Ethical Statement

The research was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the Istanbul University Social Sciences and Humanities Research Ethics Committee (Date: 05.11.2018, Number: 10). Permission was obtained via email from the authors of the Turkish-adapted scales. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to data collection.

Thanks

The authors would like to thank all nurses and patients who participated in the study.

References

  1. 1. Donabedian A. The quality of care: How can it be assessed? JAMA. 1988;260(12):1743-8.
  2. 2. Lake ET. Development of the practice environment scale of the nursing work index. Res Nurs Health. 2002;25(3):176-88. doi: 10.1002/nur.10032.
  3. 3. Hong KJ, Lee Y. The moderating effect of nursing practice environment on the relationship between clinical nurses’ sleep quality and wellness. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(19):7068. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17197068.
  4. 4. Arslan Yürümezoğlu H, Sarıoğlu E. The effects of nurses’ work environment, working hours, and patient-to-nurse ratios on nurse outcomes: A comprehensive literature review. J Health Nurs Manag. 2022;9(1):153-67. doi: 10.54304/JHNM.2022.15367.
  5. 5. Sarıköse S, Göktepe N. Effects of nurses’ individual, professional and work environment characteristics on job performance. J Clin Nurs. 2022;31(5-6):633-41.
  6. 6. AbuAlRub RF. Job stress, job performance, and social support among hospital nurses. J Nurs Scholarsh. 2004;36(1):73-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1547-5069.2004.04016.x.
  7. 7. Zhang J, Xu F, Wu J, et al. The effect of the nurse-patient relationship on the job performance of nurses in tertiary public hospitals in China: A cross-sectional survey. BMC Health Serv Res. 2025;25:812. doi: 10.1186/s12913-025-12850-2.
  8. 8. Akin T. Assessing quality of health care in the context of patient satisfaction from patients’ perspective among a physical therapy and rehabilitation unit. BMC Health Serv Res. 2025;25:66. doi: 10.1186/s12913-025-12214-w.

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Nursing Management

Journal Section

Research Article

Early Pub Date

August 31, 2026

Publication Date

August 31, 2026

Submission Date

March 24, 2026

Acceptance Date

August 31, 2026

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Number: 30

APA
Özbey, F., & Sönmez, B. (2026). The Relationship between Nurses’ Work Environment Characteristics, Job Performance and Patients’ Satisfaction with Nursing Care. Istanbul Gelisim University Journal of Health Sciences, 30, 803-816. https://doi.org/10.38079/igusabder.1915432
AMA
1.Özbey F, Sönmez B. The Relationship between Nurses’ Work Environment Characteristics, Job Performance and Patients’ Satisfaction with Nursing Care. IGUSABDER. 2026;(30):803-816. doi:10.38079/igusabder.1915432
Chicago
Özbey, Filiz, and Betül Sönmez. 2026. “The Relationship Between Nurses’ Work Environment Characteristics, Job Performance and Patients’ Satisfaction With Nursing Care”. Istanbul Gelisim University Journal of Health Sciences, nos. 30: 803-16. https://doi.org/10.38079/igusabder.1915432.
EndNote
Özbey F, Sönmez B (August 1, 2026) The Relationship between Nurses’ Work Environment Characteristics, Job Performance and Patients’ Satisfaction with Nursing Care. Istanbul Gelisim University Journal of Health Sciences 30 803–816.
IEEE
[1]F. Özbey and B. Sönmez, “The Relationship between Nurses’ Work Environment Characteristics, Job Performance and Patients’ Satisfaction with Nursing Care”, IGUSABDER, no. 30, pp. 803–816, Aug. 2026, doi: 10.38079/igusabder.1915432.
ISNAD
Özbey, Filiz - Sönmez, Betül. “The Relationship Between Nurses’ Work Environment Characteristics, Job Performance and Patients’ Satisfaction With Nursing Care”. Istanbul Gelisim University Journal of Health Sciences. 30 (August 1, 2026): 803-816. https://doi.org/10.38079/igusabder.1915432.
JAMA
1.Özbey F, Sönmez B. The Relationship between Nurses’ Work Environment Characteristics, Job Performance and Patients’ Satisfaction with Nursing Care. IGUSABDER. 2026;:803–816.
MLA
Özbey, Filiz, and Betül Sönmez. “The Relationship Between Nurses’ Work Environment Characteristics, Job Performance and Patients’ Satisfaction With Nursing Care”. Istanbul Gelisim University Journal of Health Sciences, no. 30, Aug. 2026, pp. 803-16, doi:10.38079/igusabder.1915432.
Vancouver
1.Filiz Özbey, Betül Sönmez. The Relationship between Nurses’ Work Environment Characteristics, Job Performance and Patients’ Satisfaction with Nursing Care. IGUSABDER. 2026 Aug. 1;(30):803-16. doi:10.38079/igusabder.1915432

 Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)