Effect of transactional analysis education to nurses on patient’s satisfaction

Background: Patient satisfaction is an important indicator of quality of care and health facilities. It is a predictor of patient willingness to follow treatment regimen. The major predictor of patient satisfaction with hospital care is patient satisfaction with nursing.

Aim: The main purpose of this study was to determine efficacy of transactional analysis training on inpatient`s satisfaction of nurses.

Materials and Methods: At first, hospitalized real patients and standardized patients completed satisfaction questionnaire about nurses. The mean of scores for all nurses was calculated. Nurses were divided to two groups: 1-nurses with scores higher than mean 2-nurses with scores lower than mean. Then in each group nurses were divided to two subgroup randomly: case and control group. Participants in the intervention group received a brief training about Transactional Analysis (TA). Inpatients real patients and standardized patients `satisfaction was followed up after one week, one month and three month.

Results: Application of the education intervention program provided a desirable effect by improving inpatients` satisfaction. There was a significant difference between case and control groups’ scores, one week after TA education. Although one or three months after TA education, the mean of scores were higher in case group than control group, these differences were not significant.

Conclusion: Although brief education intervention program improved inpatients` satisfaction in short term, this positive effect was not continued after one and three months later. It is likely for earning long term positive effect of TA training on inpatients’ satisfaction; this educational program must be more extended or repeated in reasonable intervals.