ANN modeling of a nurse recognition program (INSPIRE) on job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intention: evidence from Saudi private hospital data

Nurses are essential to patient care and healthcare quality, yet their job satisfaction, motivation, and retention often remain major challenges for healthcare facilities. Recognition programs are increasingly utilized to improve job satisfaction, retention, and commitment, but there is limited evidence within the Saudi context. This study focuses on the association of the INSPIRE Recognition Program with job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intentions among clinical nurses in Saudi Arabia. A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among 213 registered nurses at Almoosa Health Group, Al-Ahsa. Participants included nurses enrolled in the INSPIRE program and a control group of non-participants. Data were collected using validated tools: the Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS), Organizational Commitment Scale (OCS), and Turnover Intention Scale. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, correlation analysis, and MLP type of artificial neural network (ANN) modeling were applied. Among respondents, 46.5% participated in the INSPIRE program, and it was noted that job satisfaction was higher among participants, with 52.1% satisfied. For job satisfaction survey scores, involvement in the program was positively associated with JSS ( \( \) = 0.341, p < 0.001), affective commitment ( \( \) = 0.258, p = 0.010) and normative commitment ( \( \) = 0.476, p < 0.001). Turnover intention was negatively associated with job satisfaction (r = −0.433, p < 0.001) and affective commitment (r = −0.325, p < 0.001). The ANN classification approach showed that for commitment-related outcomes, INSPIRE program involvement emerged as the important factor (normalized importance = 100%), where a normalized importance of 100% is expressed as the reference variable against which the importance of all other variables is scaled. For turnover intention, total years of experience was the most important factor (100%), while for job satisfaction, INSPIRE involvement also ranked as the most important factor (100%) as compared to other variables included. Findings indicated that recognition programs are associated with higher job satisfaction and better emotional and ethical commitment to organizations and lower turnover intentions. Healthcare settings in Saudi Arabia may consider supporting such programs for improving positive work culture. Future studies are recommended to conduct longitudinal studies to confirm causality.