Examination of the relationship between job satisfaction and intercultural competence levels of nurses working in the neonatal intensive care unit
Journal of Neonatal Nursing, cilt.32, sa.5, 2026 (Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 32 Sayı: 5
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.jnn.2026.101932
- Dergi Adı: Journal of Neonatal Nursing
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Scopus, CINAHL
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Cultural awareness, Immigrant health, Intercultural competence, Job satisfaction, Neonatal intensive care nursing
- Çukurova Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
This descriptive, cross-sectional, and correlational study examined associations between job satisfaction and intercultural competence among nurses working in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), with attention to culturally sensitive care for immigrant families. Data were collected between March and August 2024 from 267 NICU nurses using the Health Professionals Intercultural Competence Scale (HPCS; range 20–100, higher scores indicating greater intercultural competence) and the Job Satisfaction Scale for Clinical Nurses (JSN; range 33–165, higher scores indicating greater job satisfaction). The mean age of the nurses was 32.90 ± 7.67 years, their mean professional experience was 10.47 ± 8.29 years, and 80.7% were female. Mean total scores were 63.77 ± 6.60 for the HPCS and 122.01 ± 21.14 for the JSN, indicating moderate intercultural competence and moderately high job satisfaction. Total JSN and HPCS scores differed significantly by educational level, with the highest mean scores observed among nurses with associate degrees (p = 0.014 for JSN; p = 0.013 for HPCS). Total HPCS score was not significantly correlated with total JSN score (r = −0.105, p = 0.087). However, cultural awareness was positively correlated with job satisfaction (r = 0.292, p < 0.001) and professional achievement (r = 0.253, p < 0.001), whereas cultural adaptation was negatively correlated with job satisfaction (r = −0.296, p < 0.001) and professional achievement (r = −0.303, p < 0.001). These findings suggest that the relationship between intercultural competence and job satisfaction is subdimension-specific rather than explained by overall intercultural competence. NICU strategies may include cultural awareness training, professional medical interpreter use, and brief cultural assessment during daily nursing rounds. Because of the cross-sectional design, causal relationships cannot be inferred.