1,2 Adriano Friganović 2 Sonja Kalauz 1 Maida Redžić 2 Boris Ilić 2 Irena Kovačević 3 Sandro Vidmanić 1 University Hospital Centre Zagreb 2 University of Applied Health Sciences in Zagreb 3 University Hospital Centre Rijeka Article received: 31.10.2017. Article accepted: 16.01.2018. Author for correspondence: Adriano Friganović University Hospital Centre Zagreb University of Applied Health Sciences in Zagreb email: adriano@hdmsarist.hr DOI: 10.24141/2/2/1/1 Keywords: quality indicators, patient satisfaction, nurse, nursing care Abstract Aim. Patient satisfaction with provided nursing care is an important quality indicator. This study aimed to determine the factors and the level of patient sat- isfaction in the ICU. The aim was also to determine and compare satisfaction levels among patients with regard to their level of education and the length of their stay in the ICU. Hypotheses. Hypothesis 1: The level of satisfaction with provided nursing care will be signifcantly lower among patients who have a higher level of educa- tion. Hypothesis 2: Patients will show a higher level of satisfaction with the provided nursing care when the length of their stay in the ICU is shorter. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 150 patients treated in intensive care units at the University Hospital Centre Zagreb during a period of 6 months. The survey contained a total of 24 closed- ended questions. The study hypotheses were tested using the chi-squared test. Results. The study confrmed the starting hypothesis 1, stating that patients with a higher level of education have lower satisfaction levels than patients with a low- er level of education. The hypothesis 2, which assumed that patients with shorter hospital stays, defned in our survey as a stay of no more than fve days, were more satisfed with conditions in the ICU than those who stayed longer than fve days, has been dismissed. Conclusion. Patients with a higher education level have higher expectations from health care providers which results in lower satisfaction levels with the provided nursing care. The longer patients stay in hospital wards, the higher the probability of fnding potential reasons for dissatisfaction. Patient Satisfaction as a Nursing Care Quality Indicator in the ICU Croat Nurs J. 2018; 2(1): 5-20