Nursing staff levels, years of service and nationality diversity as predictors of patient satisfaction with nursing care: a retrospective analysis

Background: Patient satisfaction is vital in healthcare, influencing treatment adherence, health outcomes, occurrence of complications, and the likelihood of returning for care. Aims: This study aimed to assess the impact of the nursing workforce’s nationality diversity, years of service, and staffing levels on patient satisfaction in a tertiary hospital, in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted, correlating patient satisfaction scores from Press Ganey ® reports with nursing data from hospital manpower reports collected from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2023. Descriptive statistics were used, with significance set at p ⩽ 0.05. Results: Pearson’s correlation coefficient yielded no relationship between: the nurses’ years of service versus mean patient satisfaction scores ( r = −0.02, p = 0.695), nursing staff levels versus mean patient satisfaction scores ( r = 0.04, p = 0.49; Figure 2 ) and number of nationalities in the care units versus mean patient satisfaction scores ( r = −0.057, p = 0.27). Conclusions: These findings suggest that factors beyond nurse numbers, tenure, or nationality diversity might significantly influence patient satisfaction. Improving other aspects of care and addressing diverse patient needs can allow nursing to further enhance patient satisfaction, health outcomes, and the quality of nursing services provided.