• Beth Ellen Barba, Jie Hu, and Jimmy Efird.
• Community Practice Department, School of Nursing, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC 27402-6170, USA. bebarba@uncg.edu
• J Clin Nurs. 2012 Mar 1; 21 (5-6): 833-40.

Aims And ObjectivesThis study focused on differences in nurses' satisfaction with the quality of care of older people and with organisational characteristics and work environment in acute care and long-term care settings.BackgroundNumerous studies have explored links between nurses' satisfaction with care and work environments on the one hand and a variety of physical, behavioural and psychological reactions of nurses on the other. One key to keeping nurses in the workplace is a better understanding of nurses' satisfaction with the quality of care they provide.DesignDescriptive design.MethodThe self-selected sample included 298 registered nurses and licensed practical nurses who provide care to minority, underserved and disadvantaged older populations in 89 long-term care and <100 bed hospitals in 38 rural counties and eight metropolitan areas in a Southern state. All completed the Agency Geriatric Nursing Care survey, which consisted of a 13-item scale measuring nurses' satisfaction with the quality of geriatric care in their practice settings and an 11-item scale examining obstacles to providing quality geriatric care. Demographic variables were compared with chi-square. Independent t-tests were used to examine differences between nurses in long-term care and acute care settings.ResultsSignificant differences were found in level of satisfaction and perceived obstacles to providing quality care to older adults between participants from acute and long-term care. Participants in long-term care had greater satisfaction with the quality of geriatric care than those in acute facilities.ConclusionsNurses in long-term care were more satisfied that care was evidence-based; specialised to individual needs of older adults; promoted autonomy and independence of elders; and was continuous across settings. Participants in acute facilities perceived more obstacles to providing quality geriatric care than nurses in long-term care facilities.Relevance To Clinical PracticeModification of hospital geriatric practice environments and leadership commitment to evidence-based practice guidelines that promote autonomy and independence of patients and staff could improve acute care nurses' perceptions of quality of geriatric care.© 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

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