Nurses' experiences of the attributes of the organizational citizenship behavior: a qualitative content analysis

• Published in: BMC health services research 2024-04, Vol.24 (1), p.538-538, Article 538
• Main Authors: Khajoei, Rahimeh, Jokar, Mozhgan, Vasli, Parvaneh
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Altruism; Analysis; Attitude of Health Personnel; Behavior; Beliefs, opinions and attitudes; Citizenship; Content analysis; Cooperation; Creative ability; Data analysis; Employees; Female; Health care industry; Hospitals; Human resource management; Human resources; Humans; Information management; Interviews; Interviews as Topic; Iran; Leadership; Male; Managers; Medical care; Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; Middle Aged; Nurse; Nurses; Nursing care; Nursing Staff, Hospital - psychology; Organ, Dennis; Organizational behavior; Organizational Culture; Patient satisfaction; Professional development; Public opinion; Qualitative Research; Qualitative study; Quality management; Recruiting; Research methodology; Social aspects; Training
• ISSN: 1472-6963; 1472-6963
• DOI: 10.1186/s12913-024-10939-8

Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) among nurses, as the key human resources in healthcare systems, is of paramount importance to nursing care quality and patient outcomes. The present study was to reflect on Iranian nurses' experiences of OCB. This qualitative study was completed in Iran from December 2022 to October 2023. In total, 20 nurses involved in hospitals, meeting the inclusion criteria, were recruited by purposive sampling with maximum variation. The data were then collected using 20 semi-structured interviews, each one lasting 30-60 min, and finally analyzed through qualitative content analysis. The data analysis revealed the nurses' experiences of OCB under nine subcategories and three main categories, including (i) "helping behavior", comprised of four subcategories of helping colleagues at work, helping colleagues outside of work, boosting morale, and creating a culture of support and appreciation, (ii) "extra-role behavior" with two subcategories of cooperation in advancing tasks, and creativity and efforts to promote services, and (iii) "contribution to professional growth and development", consisting of two subcategories of individual professional development and support for colleagues' professional development. Nursing managers and instructors can use the study results to enhance nurses' OCB by evaluating and employing nurses, and incorporating OCB into nursing curricula and continuous training programs.