Determinants of job satisfaction and motivation among Gaza nurses.

Job satisfaction and motivation continues to be of great significance in the recruitment, commitment, retention, productivity and mental health of nurses, particularly, in collectivist communities like the Palestinian one. Therefore, the overall aims of this study are to ascertain the degree of job satisfaction and motivation among Gaza nurses, to identify main factors affecting these and how these relate to other research in this area, most of which has been carried out in rather different western cultures. The study is quantitative/qualitative, cross-sectional, methodologically triangulated, and was conducted between 1997-2000. A sum of 420 nurses chosen through a Probability Systematic Random Sample were requested to complete self-administered questionnaires and 44 purposively selected nurses were interviewed in 4 focus group sessions with a response rate of 89%.The analysis of the quantitative and qualitative data extracted seven domains that reflected Gaza nurses' expectations by reference to their job satisfaction. These are management culture, interaction and communication, professional development, professional status and self-esteem, working life, work benefits and conditions and professional autonomy. Thus, Gaza nurses perceived motivators support the Process Theories of motivation and question the Content and Scientific Theories. The study revealed that Gaza nurses were moderately satisfied (50-60%) in general, but their satisfaction could be further improved. Management dominates the general picture of Gaza nurses' motivation and most of the factors related to it. The study clarified the general picture of Gaza nurses by demonstrating their personal and organisational characteristics and provided some insights into the relationships between these variables and motivation.The identified seven factors could be seen as constituting a model-frame for subjects' motivation. The study's findings contribute in enabling those concerned with this issue, particularly nurse managers in Palestine, to understand what motivates their nurses and to develop more effective motivational strategies.