Intention to Leave the Nursing Profession and Its Relation with Work Climate and Demographic Characteristics

Working conditions, missed care and patient experience in home care nursing in Italy: An observational study

INTRODUCTION

The aging of the population requires an appropriate knowledge of the type of care that needs to be provided to inform healthcare policies. In Italy, neither home care nursing, nor the patient experiences have ever been described.

OBJECTIVES

To describe the characteristics of nurses and care recipients involved in home care.

METHODS

A descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in 18 Italian Regions. Between April and October 2023, data from nurses and patients involved in home care were collected through two surveys. Psychosocial conditions in workplaces, missed care, and care experiences were assessed using validated tools. Descriptive statistics and Pearson's correlations were performed.

RESULTS

A total of 46 local healthcare units were included in this study, with a total of 2549 nurses and 4709 care recipients. Nurses (mean age 46.60; 79.48% female; 44.68% regional nursing diploma as the highest qualification) reported good working conditions (42.37; SD = 12.25; range = 0-100) and a high mean number of missed care activities (5.11; SD = 3.19; range 0-9). Most nurses (83.41%) reported high levels of job satisfaction, while 20.28% intended to leave their job. Patients (mean age 75.18; 57.57% female; 36.95% primary school), on the other hand, rated positively the care they had received (8.23; range = 0-10).

CONCLUSIONS

Despite the perception of critical issues at work and some missed care, satisfaction in nurses and patients was high. These data constitute a preliminary snapshot of the studied phenomena, which will be investigated through more in-depth analyses.

Variables that predict nurses' job stress and intention to leave during the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey

AIM

To investigate the variables predicting job stress and intention to leave the job among nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey.

DESIGN

This research was designed as an analytical cross-sectional study.

METHODS

The population of the study consisted of 450 nurses working in a training and research hospital (N = 450). The study sample consisted of 178 nurses who worked in that hospital between February and July 2021. The Nurse Information Form, Job Stress Scale, and Intention to Leave Scale were used as data collection tools. The independent-sample t-test, one-way analysis of variance, and Pearson correlation analysis were applied for univariate analysis while multiple regression analysis was used for multivariate analysis.

RESULTS

It was determined that the main factors predicting nurses' job stress levels were their Intention to Leave Scale scores, level of organizational satisfaction. The main factors predicting intention to leave were their Job Stress Scale scores, working conditions, and job satisfaction. A positive moderate correlation was found between job stress and intention to leave.

CONCLUSION

This study demostares that among nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic, the predictors of job stress were intention to leave and organizational satisfaction, while the predictors of turnover intention included job stress, working conditions, and job satisfaction. Hospital managers, especially nursing services managers, should develop strategies for extraordinary situations such as pandemics and evaluate the professional satisfaction of nurses while providing a healthy working environment.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

No patient or public contributions.

Nurses' motivations to leave the nursing profession: A qualitative meta-aggregation

AIM

To systematically provide an overview of the qualitative evidence available on the motivations for nurses to leave the nursing profession.

DESIGN

A qualitative systematic review using the meta-aggregation design of the Joanna Briggs Institute.

DATA SOURCES

Qualitative studies in English, dating from 2010 until January 2023, were obtained from CINAHL, PsycINFO and PubMed.

REVIEW METHODS

Studies were selected using predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Quality assessment was done using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist for Qualitative Research. The assessment of confidence in the review findings was done according to the ConQual approach.

RESULTS

Nine papers that investigated nurses' motivations to leave the profession were included. We developed four synthesized findings from 11 synthesized categories and 31 categories to reflect nurses' motivations to leave the profession, including (1) challenging work environment, (2) emotional distress, (3) disappointment about nursing reality, and (4) culture of hierarchy and discrimination.

CONCLUSION

This review provides an in-depth and meaningful understanding of motivations for nurses to leave the profession. Among others, poor working conditions, a lack of opportunities for career development, a lack of support from managers, work-related stress, a discrepancy between nursing education and practice and bullying behaviour were motivations to leave the profession, which calls for targeted action to retain nurses in the profession.

IMPACT

Findings of this study shine a light on reasons why nurses leave the profession, providing evidence to support nurse managers and policymakers to develop retention strategies to move out of current crisis into recovery of sustainable global healthcare.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

There was no direct patient or caregiver contribution to this study because this study originated from the process of a Master study. However, two of the authors are still involved in clinical nursing practice and provided the necessary link between research and practice.

Work-schedule management in psychiatric hospitals and its associations with nurses' emotional exhaustion and intention to leave: A cross-sectional multicenter study

BACKGROUND

Managing nurses' work schedules in hospitals is challenging because employer needs, like shift changes at short notice and overtime, may conflict with nurses' desires for a predictable and stable schedule. Nurses should have a certain degree of control over their work schedules, and their supervisors should support their needs in scheduling. How perceived control over work schedules, perceived support from supervisors in scheduling, shift changes at short notice, and overtime affect nurses' emotional exhaustion and intentions to leave has not been studied.

OBJECTIVES

The aims are (1) to describe perceived control, perceived supervisor support, shift changes at short notice, and overtime among nurses in psychiatric hospitals; (2) to assess the variation of these four factors between units at psychiatric hospitals; and (3) to investigate the association between these factors with nurses' emotional exhaustion and intentions to leave.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional survey study.

SETTING(S)

Swiss psychiatric hospitals with 24-hour services.

PARTICIPANTS

Registered nurses (N = 994) from 114 adult-inpatient units.

METHODS

To describe perceived control, perceived supervisor support, shift changes at short notice, and overtime among nurses, we calculated frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations of their responses to the survey. To assess the variation between units, we computed intraclass correlations for the four factors. We constructed random-effects models accounting for the clustering of nurses in units for emotional exhaustion and intentions to leave separately.

RESULTS

Perception of work-schedule control was 3.32 (SD 1.39, range 0-5); perception of supervisor work-schedule support was 3.28 (SD 1.14, range 0-4). On average, 9 % of the nurses had to take over a shift at short notice at least three times per month, and 40 % worked at least 15 minute overtime on their most recent shift. Intraclass correlation for all four factors was higher than 0.05. Emotional exhaustion was significantly associated with supervisor support and overtime, and leaving intentions were significantly associated with perceived control, supervisor support and overtime.

CONCLUSION

Perceived control, perceived supervisor support, shift changes at short notice, and overtime are promising factors for interventions to prevent nurses' emotional exhaustion and allay their intentions to leave. Unit managers should provide nurses with increased predictability and influence on their work schedules. This could reduce early career endings and early retirement and counteract nurse shortages.

Retention of newly graduated registered nurses in the hospital setting: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

There is a gap in the literature on identifying and describing effective interventions for the retention of newly graduated registered nurses in hospital settings. To the best of our knowledge, no systematic review has been conducted on this issue.

AIM

To identify effective interventions that promote the retention of newly graduated registered nurses in the hospital setting and their components.

DESIGN

A systematic review was conducted according to PRISMA 2020 Statement.

METHODS

Information derived from the PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, PsycINFO and Cochrane Library databases was reviewed, for the period January 2012-October 2022. Screening, data extraction and quality appraisal were conducted independently by two reviewers. The Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal tools were used for descriptive, quasi-experimental and cohort studies. Disagreements between the two reviewers were resolved through discussion.

RESULTS

Following the critical appraisal, nine studies were included. The evidence reveals the heterogeneity of programmes developed in the hospital context to promote the retention of newly graduated registered nurses, clarifies the three competencies to be addressed (core, cross-cutting and specific), their components (programme development framework, duration, content and support components), and shows significant improvements after their implementation.

CONCLUSIONS

This systematic review identifies that either nurse residency or individualised mentoring programmes, lasting 1 year, and multi-component, addressing core and specific competencies and including preceptor or mentor components seem to be the most comprehensive and effective in promoting the retention of new nurses in the hospital setting.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

The knowledge provided by this review will contribute to developing and implementing more effective and context-specific strategies directed at retaining newly graduated registered nurses and subsequently enhancing patient safety and healthcare costs.

NO PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

Given the study design and focus.

Factors related to turnover intention among emergency department nurses in China: A nationwide cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Turnover intention among nurses is high, especially in the emergency department. However, factors that are associated with Chinese emergency department nurses' turnover intention have been scarcely studied.

AIMS

The present study examined relationships between turnover intention and demographic characteristics, job-related factors, depressive symptoms, and organizational commitment among emergency department nurses.

STUDY DESIGN

A cross-sectional study of emergency department nurses was conducted in China between July and August 2018. The questionnaire included demographic characteristics (age, gender, level of education, and self-rated health status), job-related factors (qualification title, job seniority, night shifts, and workplace violence), depressive symptoms, organizational commitment, and turnover intention. A hierarchical linear regression model was used to identify factors that are associated with turnover intention among emergency department nurses.

RESULTS

A total of 17 582 emergency department nurses participated in the study. The response rate was 68.9%. The findings indicated that poor self-rated health status (β = 0.25, p < .001), working more than 11 night shifts per month (β = 0.14, p < .01), experiencing workplace violence in the past year (β = 0.08, p < .05), and higher depressive symptom scores (β = 0.07, p < .001) positively correlated with turnover intention. More years of service (β = -0.38, p < .001) and higher organizational commitment scores (β = -0.45, p < .001) negatively correlated with turnover intention.

CONCLUSIONS

Health status, job seniority, night shift frequency per month, workplace violence, depressive symptoms, and organizational commitment were significantly associated with emergency department nurses' turnover intention.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

To reduce turnover intention in the emergency department nurses, hospital administrators and managers should implement measures to improve their physical and mental health, increase organizational commitment, develop staff acceptable shift schedules, and reduce incidences of workplace violence.

Intention to leave the profession and related factors in nurses: A cross-sectional study in Kermanshah, Iran

AIM

To investigate the intention to leave the profession and its related factors among nurses in Kermanshah, western Iran.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

METHODS

A total of 377 nurses were enrolled in a stratified random sampling method. Data were collected by the Anticipated Turnover Scale and a sociodemographic information form. and analysed by descriptive and inferential statistics (logistic regression analysis).

RESULTS

The results showed that 49.6% (n = 187) of nurses tended to leave the profession and the mean score of intention to leave was 36.6 ± 0.5 of 60. There were no statistically significant differences between nurses who intended to leave and those who did not in terms of age, marital status, gender, type of employment, type of shift and work experience. But a statistically significant association was found between workplace (p = 0.041, adjusted OR = 2.07) and job title (p = 0.016, adjusted OR = 0.58) and intention to leave the profession.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

No.

Intention to Leave Nursing Profession and Its Associated Factors Among Nurses: A Facility Based Cross-Sectional Study

Nurses' intention of leaving their profession is the main challenge for healthcare and hospital administrators in many countries. It has significant impact on the performance, stability and productivity of health facilities. However, there is limited evidence on the nurses' intention to leave their profession and associated factors among nurses in developing countries including Ethiopia. This study was aimed to assess intention to leave nursing profession and its associated factors among nurses working in West Shoa Zone public Hospitals, Oromia region, Central Ethiopia, 2020. Institution based cross-sectional study was conducted among 393 nurses working in West Shoa zone public hospitals, Ethiopia from May 1 to 30, 2020. Simple random sampling technique was used to select the study participants. Structured self- administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Data were cleaned and entered into Epi-data version 3.1 then exported to SPSS version 25 for analysis. Descriptive statistics such as frequency mean and standard deviation was computed to describe variables of the study. All covariates that were significant at P value <0.25 in bivariate logistic regression analysis were considered for further multivariable logistic regression analysis. Backward stepwise logistic regression model was fitted, crude ratio and odds ratio were calculated for factors at 95% confidence interval (CI). Level of statistical significance was declared at P value <0.05. In this study, the overall nurses' intention to leave nursing profession was 61.3% [95% CI (56.5%, 66.2%)]. Nurses' educational status, age, working experience, working position, professional commitment, job stress, job satisfaction and organizational factor were significantly associated with nurses' intention to leave their profession. The overall nurses' intention to leave their profession was high. Reducing this level of leaving intention needs collaborative intervention related to factors like safety of working environment, job related stress, job satisfaction, professional commitment and education opportunities which are a big homework for managers on health sectors of West Shoa zone public Hospitals and higher level health sector managers.

Factors Influencing Turnover Intention among Nurses and Midwives in Ghana

BACKGROUND

Nurse turnover intention, defined as a measure of nurses' desire to leave their positions, is a global public health issue with a grave impact on the healthcare workforce. However, literature on it is limited in sub-Saharan Africa, an at-risk region. This study aimed to determine the predictors of turnover intention among nursing staff at a tertiary hospital in Kumasi, Ghana.

METHODS

This was an institution-basedcross-sectional study conducted among 226 randomly selected nurses and midwives working at a tertiary healthcare center in Kumasi, Ghana. Data were collected by using a structured questionnaire. Significant predictors of turnover intention were analyzed by using multivariate logistic regression analysis. Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) and p value <0.05 was used.

RESULTS

The prevalence of turnover intention among study participants was 87.2% (197/226). About two-thirds (61.5%, 139/226) of the participants were exposed to a high level of workplace hazards. Management support (AOR = 3.09, 95% CI = 1.09-8.75), salary (AOR = 0.07, 95% CI = 0.01-0.46), inadequate number of staff on duty per shift (AOR = 3.36, 95% CI = 1.08-10.47) and participants' rank (AOR = 6.81, 95% CI = 1.18-39.16) were significantly associated with turnover intention.

CONCLUSION

Overall, the turnover intention was high. Hence, there is a need for policymakers, health administrators, and nurse managers to implement strategies such as increasing staff strength, providing adequate support, incentives, and other forms of motivation for nurses and midwives to help reduce the rate of turnover intention.

Identification of the components for investigation of the psychological strength of nursing applicants: A qualitative study

AIM

There is a lack of clarity about the components which would signify appropriate psychological strengths among nursing student candidates. This study was conducted to identify such components from the viewpoint of the clinical nurses and nursing instructors.

DESIGN

A qualitative study.

METHODS

This study comprised qualitative research using a conventional content analysis approach. Participants were 25 nurses and nursing instructors. Data were collected in audio-recorded and transcribed semi-structured interviews and were analysed using MAXQDA10 software.

RESULTS

Analysis revealed four main categories including "anger management," "Stress/distress management," "self-belief" and "aptitude for hard work."

CONCLUSIONS

This study identified core components for future investigations into the psychological strengths of nursing applicants. This study provides specific testable hypotheses for future research endeavours. It is recommended that the researchers investigate the appropriateness of the components identified in this study to assess the psychological strength of the applicants in the longitudinal studies.

Resilience, Occupational Stress, Job Satisfaction, and Intention to Leave the Organization among Nurses and Midwives during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The current study on the intention to leave the organization among nurses and midwives aligns with the broader direction of research on the consequences of demanding jobs. This is particularly important in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in 2020 and is ongoing. The aim of the current study was to identify the levels of intention to leave the organization and job satisfaction in a sample of 390 Polish nurses and midwives. A multiple stepwise linear regression was carried out to establish which variables are predictors of job satisfaction and intention to leave the organization. The following measures were used in the study: Nurses' Occupational Stressor Scale, The Brief Resilience Coping Scale, The Turnover Intention Scale, The Job Satisfaction Scale, and an occupational questionnaire (number of workplaces, weekly number of evening and night shifts, working at a unit dedicated to treating COVID-19, working as a supervisor/executive). The current study showed that almost 25% of the sample reported high turnover intention, and a similar proportion reported low job satisfaction. Resilience was related to nurses' job satisfaction. In the predictive models for job satisfaction, the organizational factor of the number of workplaces was significant (positively related), while job experience was a negative predictor of intention to leave. The practical implications of the results and the need to continue research on this topic are also discussed.

An app for predicting nurse intention to quit the job using artificial neural networks (ANNs) in Microsoft Excel

Background:

Numerous studies have identified factors related to nurses’ intention to leave. However, none has successfully predicted the nurse’s intention to quit the job. Whether the intention to quit the job can be predicted is an interesting topic in healthcare settings. A model to predict the nurse’s intention to quit the job for novice nurses should be investigated. The aim of this study is to build a model to develop an app for the automatic prediction and classification of nurses’ intention to quit their jobs.

Methods:

We recruited 1104 novice nurses working in 6 medical centers in Taiwan to complete 100-item questionnaires related to the nurse’s intention to quit the job in October 2018. The k-mean was used to divide nurses into 2 classes based on 5 items regarding leave intention. Feature variables were selected from the 100-item survey. Two models, including an artificial neural network (ANN) and a convolutional neural network, were compared across 4 scenarios made up of 2 training sets (n = 1104 and n = 804 ≅ 70%) and their corresponding testing (n = 300 ≅ 30%) sets to verify the model accuracy. An app for predicting the nurse’s intention to quit the job was then developed as a website assessment.

Results:

We observed that 24 feature variables extracted from this study in the ANN model yielded a higher area under the ROC curve of 0.82 (95% CI 0.80-0.84) based on the 1104 cases, the ANN performed better than the convolutional neural network on the accuracy, and a ready and available app for predicting the nurse’s intention to quit the job was successfully developed in this study.

Conclusions:

A 24-item ANN model with 53 parameters estimated by the ANN was developed to improve the accuracy of nurses’ intention to quit their jobs. The app would help team leaders take care of nurses who intend to quit the job before their actions are taken.

Key Points

Factors Contributing to Rationed Nursing Care in the Slovak Republic-A Secondary Analysis of Quantitative Data

Rationed nursing care is a significant problem in healthcare facilities worldwide. Awareness of contributing factors to rationed care might support the development and implementation of strategies for reducing this phenomenon from clinical practice. The study examined the association between selected hospital, unit, and staff variables and the prevalence of rationed nursing care. Secondary analysis of cross-sectional data collected between December 2017 and July 2018 from 895 registered nurses in seven acute care hospitals in the Slovak Republic was performed. Data were collected using the questionnaire Perceived Implicit Rationing of Nursing and analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics in the statistical program SPSS 25.0. Statistically significant associations were found between rationed nursing care and unit type, education, shift type, nurses' experience in the current unit, overtime hours, missed shifts, intention to leave the position, perceived staff adequacy, quality of patient care, and job satisfaction. Differences in rating rationed nursing care, quality of patient care, and job satisfaction were identified based on hospital type. Together with top hospital management, nurse managers should develop targeted interventions focusing on mitigating rationed nursing care from the clinical practice with a focus placed on university hospitals. Quality and safe care might be ensured through constant monitoring of the quality of patient care and job satisfaction of nurses as these factors significantly predicted the estimates of rationed nursing care.

The Impact of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic on Nurses' Turnover Intention: An Integrative Review

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the demand and workload on nurses. In addition, the number of critical cases, the uncertainty about the disease, and the incidence rate of death from the disease impose a psychological stress on nurses. Considering the alarming issues of stress, burnout, and turnover among nurses even before the pandemic, the pandemic might have amplified such issues. Thus, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on nurses' turnover and turnover intention warrants investigation. The aim of this review is to appraise and integrate the current pre- and post-coronavirus disease (COVID-19) literature on nurse turnover, published between 2016 and 2021. Forty-three studies on nurses' turnover intention were appraised and synthesized. The reviewed literature suggested that nurses' turnover intention increased significantly after the COVID-19 pandemic. Post-COVID-19-pandemic studies focused more on predicting nurses' turnover intention through the pandemic's negative impact on the nurses' psychological wellbeing. The findings of this review should be considered by nurse managers and leaders in the development of policies and programs to reduce the negative impact of COVID-19 on nurse retention.

Work-related stress and intention to leave among midwives working in Swiss maternity hospitals - a cross-sectional study

Background

Health systems around the globe are struggling to recruit qualified health professionals. Work-related stress plays an important role in why health professionals leave their profession prematurely. However, little is known about midwives’ working conditions and intentions to leave their profession, although this knowledge is key to work force retention. Therefore, we aimed to investigate work-related stress among midwives working in Swiss maternity hospitals, as well as differences between midwives and other health professionals and the stressors associated with midwives’ intention to leave the profession.

Methods

We conducted a data analysis of two cross-sectional studies encompassing midwives working in labour, postpartum and/or gynaecology wards of 12 public Swiss maternity hospitals. Data was collected by self-report questionnaire assessing potential stressors and long-term consequences of stress at work. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Kruskal Wallis tests and logistic regression modelling.

Results

A total of 98 midwives took part in the study and one in three midwives reported doing overtime sometimes-always. Also, the score for work-private life conflicts was significantly higher among midwives than among other health professionals, with the exception of physicians (M = 37.0 versus 50.2, p < .001). Midwives’ meaning of work score (M = 89.4) was significantly higher than that of other health professionals (e.g. nurses (M = 83.0, p < .001) or physicians (M = 82.5, p < .01)). Generation Y midwives showed a significantly higher intention to leave their organisation than did the baby boomers (Mean scores 29.3 versus 10.0, p < .01). Results of the regression model revealed that if midwives could compensate for their overtime in the same month, their intention to leave the profession was lower (OR = 0.23, p < .05). Additionally, the more midwives were affected by work-private life conflicts (OR = 3.01, p < .05) and thoughts about leaving their organisation (OR = 6.81, p < .05), the higher was their intention to leave their profession prematurely.

Conclusions

The comparison with other health professions and the higher intention to leave the profession of younger midwife generations are important findings for heads of institutions as well as policy makers, and should stimulate them to develop strategies for keeping midwives on their staff. More extensive studies should implement and test interventions for reducing work-related stress and increasing the job and occupational satisfaction of midwives.