Survivors and victims of hospital restructuring and downsizing: who are the real victims?

This study reports the results of a longitudinal study of the effects of hospital restructuring and downsizing on nursing staff satisfaction and psychological well-being. Participants completed questionnaires in November 1996 and November 1999. All were employed as hospital-based nurses in 1996 but some had left hospital nursing for other jobs by 1999. Nurses still employed in hospital settings (N=744) were compared with nurses now employed elsewhere (N=74). Hospital-based nursing staff reported less job satisfaction, more absenteeism, greater psychological burnout and poorer psychological well-being than nurses now employed elsewhere.