Nurses’ job satisfaction and their perceived organizational justice in Kerman University of Medical Sciences: an evaluation for the Iranian health system transformation plan

Background: Nurses’ job satisfaction is a determining factor in providing high quality and safe care services and obtaining patient satisfaction. It seems that with the implementation of the Transformation Plan for the Iranian Health System and due to changes in various factors such as professional, individual, and organizational circumstances, nurses’ perceived organizational justice, and as a result, their job satisfaction has changed. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim to determine nurses’ perception of organizational justice and job satisfaction in the context of the Transformation Plan for the Iranian Health System. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive study, the job satisfaction and perception of organizational justice of 345 nurses in hospitals affiliated with Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Iran, were assessed in the first half of 2016. The subjects were selected through stratified random sampling. The data collection tools consisted of the Perceived Organizational Justice Scale (Niehoff and Moorman) and Mueller/McCloskey Nurse Job Satisfaction Scale (MMSS). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistical tests, Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regression in SPSS software and with the consideration of the significance level of 0.05. Results: Mean score of nurses’ perceived organization justice and job satisfaction were 50.580 ± 12.93 and 76.000 ± 20.34, respectively. A positive and significant correlation was observed between perceived organizational justice and job satisfaction of nurses (r = 0.635; P = 0.001). Based on the results of this study, nurses’ perceived organizational justice can significantly predict their job satisfaction up to 39.3%. Conclusion: The rate of perception of organizational justice is a predictive factor of nurses’ job satisfaction. Therefore, in the context of the Transformation Plan for the Iranian Health System, the policymakers’ consideration of factors effective on the establishment of organizational justice, and as result, improvement of nurses’ job satisfaction seems necessary.