Relationship between supportive supervision and caring behavior among healthcare workers: The mediating role of job satisfaction

Abstract

Introduction: A significant way of ensuring treatment efficacy is through human interaction focusing on caring behavior. However, few studies exist examining factors within the healthcare sector and their impact on the caring behavior of healthcare workers. Accordingly, the mediating role of job satisfaction in the nexus between supportive supervision and the caring behavior of healthcare workers in the public sector was examined. Methods: A quantitative method of collecting data via the cross-sectional design was adopted. Three standardized self-report measurement scales with acceptable psychometric properties were utilized for data collection. A regression-based analysis (complemented with PROCESS Macro v4.2) was adopted for hypotheses testing through the IBM SPSS v25. Results: The participants were 204 public health workers from Delta State, Nigeria. More than half of the respondents were females 107 (52.5%) and the mean age was 40.74 years. The study’s results provided support for the four tested hypotheses. Supportive supervision and job satisfaction were positive and significant predictors of caring behavior. Also, supportive supervision positively and significantly predicted job satisfaction while job satisfaction mediated the relationship between supportive supervision and caring behavior. Conclusion: This study demonstrates the importance of supportive supervision and job satisfaction in predicting the caring behavior of healthcare workers. Consequently, it is recommended that policymakers, practitioners, and hospital administrators in the health sector put in place frameworks that will promote supportive supervision and job satisfaction.