A cognitive approach to patient satisfaction with emergency department nursing care.

The assessment of patient satisfaction is an integral part of any quality improvement activity. In this study, patient satisfaction with emergency department (ED) nursing care was significantly positively related to the patient's self-perceived improvement and to the patient's admission to the hospital. Patient satisfaction with ED nursing care was not significantly related to patient acuity or other individual patient differences (age, gender, marital status, length of stay, type of treatment, number of previous ED visits, race, payer source, pain, or presence of chronic health problems). Psychological safety and information giving were found to contribute significantly to patient satisfaction with the ED nurse. Patient satisfaction with ED nursing care contributed significantly to the patients' intention to return to the ED.