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Protecting and promoting occupational health are important to improving public health. Occupational health services require a modern approach (Fisek, 2001; Topuzoglu, 1993) and a combination of preventive, curative, and healthpromoting activities. Preventive activities to protect, improve, and promote health are the most important part of occupational health practice (Rogers, 1996).
Effective occupational health care offers employees health-promoting programs, safety training, and occupational risk assessment, thus decreasing occupational accidents and disabilities, improving quality of life, and increasing productivity, morale, and job satisfaction (Gumpert & Kusiak, 1999; Rogers, 1996). Occupational health care includes services offered by the occupational health staff and requires a multi-disciplinary team. Team members include an occupational health nurse, occupational physician, psychologist, toxicologist, industrial hygienist, safety engineer, employee, employer, and union representative. The aim of all involved is to promote the health of every employee (Bahar, 1987; FeIton, 2000; Fisek, 2001; Rieth, 2000; Rogers, 1996; World Health Organization, 2001). Occupational health nurses observe working conditions and employees as well as changes in work processes and are responsible for occupational health services in many workplaces (Emiroglu, 2000).
Various approaches, including scientific evaluations, are used to determine the efficacy of available occupational health services. These evaluations can include employees' satisfaction with and expectations of available health services (Carman, 2000; Hulshof, Verbeek, VanDijk, Werde, & Braam, 1999; Larrabee & Bolden, 2001; Sato, 1997). Employees' satisfaction with and expectations of available services are considered important indicators of the quality of occupational health care and are important to improving services.
Satisfaction can be considered pleasure felt by individuals about a service offered, including how and where the service is offered and how it fulfills their expectations (Mitchell, Leanna, & Hyde, 1999; Verbeek, Dijk, Rasanen, & Piirainen, 2001). Satisfaction has various aspects. It is a mixture of experiences with and expectations of health care systems and it means harmony between ideal nursing care and that available (Merkouris, Yfantopoulos, Lanara, & Lemonidou, 1999). Satisfaction is a balance between perceptions of and expectations of available health care.
Satisfaction surveys are used to evaluate the quality of health care by asking employees about their satisfaction with available care, problems experienced, and services that could be improved. Thus, employees should receive better care and have easier access to health services (Lusk, Disch, & Barkauskas,...