In recent years, healthcare systems have undergone significant transformation due to cost pressures, rising patient expectations, and the need for institutional restructuring. In this context, hospitals have increasingly adopted strategies such as mergers, acquisitions, and affiliation agreements to ensure economic and organizational sustainability. Affiliation stands out as a strategic collaboration model based on workforce, training, and resource sharing between institutions. The aim of this study is to identify healthcare workers’ attitudes toward the affiliation process and examine the effect of these attitudes on job satisfaction. The research was conducted between April and July 2023 with 342 voluntary healthcare workers employed at Muğla Sıtkı Koçman Training and Research Hospital. Independent samples t-test was used to compare two groups, while one-way ANOVA with Bonferroni post-hoc analysis was applied for comparisons among three or more groups. Pearson correlation analysis and multiple linear regression were used to examine relationships between variables. Data were collected using the Affiliation Attitude Scale and the Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire. The main hypothesis was that positive attitudes toward affiliation would increase job satisfaction, whereas negative attitudes would reduce it.

Findings show that positive affiliation attitudes increase job satisfaction, while negative attitudes decrease it. Factors such as monthly income and work experience influence these attitudes, whereas gender and marital status do not show significant effects. Bachelor’s degree holders and Ministry of Health employees tend to approach affiliation more critically, while physicians perceive negative impacts to a lesser extent. In the literature, affiliation is described as a strategic model that enhances service quality and educational processes, with different implementations observed in Europe and the United States. The study highlights the significant effects of affiliation on managerial processes and employee satisfaction and offers recommendations such as developing institution-specific affiliation models, informing employees, and utilizing international experiences.

Hamit Özgür SÜNGER

Turgut UZUNÇAKMAK

Serap DURUKAN KÖSE