Abstract

Background: leadership style is one of the factors affecting organizational health. Therefore, it has been considered as one of the clearest indicators of organizational effectiveness. Leadership is a part of nursing skills that plays an essential role in providing good health services. Aim: This study aimed to determine the relationship between leadership styles and organizational health in Nurses of Teaching Hospitals affiliated to Ilam University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This descriptive-correlational study was conducted on 110 nurses from Teaching Hospitals in Ilam, 2018. To collect data, an assessment battery including Bass and Avolio's Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (2004) consisting of 45 items and Hoy and Tarter's Organizational Health Inventory (1997) consisting of 44 items were used. The data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and analytical tests ( Pearson's and Spearman's correlation coefficients). Results: The findings demonstrated that the prevailing leadership style in the teaching hospitals was the transactional leadership style (2.95 +/- 0.72) and the organizational health level (97.38 +/- 21.89) was at an optimum level. Also, Pearson's correlation coefficient indicated a significant relationship between leadership styles and organizational health (p <0.005, r = 0.29). Regarding the direct relationship between leadership style and organizational health based on the results of this study, it can be suggested that nursing managers choose transactional leadership style and take steps toward its implementation in order to increase organizational health in their managed centers.