Exploring the reasons behind nurses' intentions to leave their hospital or profession: A cross-sectional survey

Abstract

Background

Multiple factors can fuel nurses’ intention to leave their employing hospital or their profession. Job dissatisfaction and burnout are contributors to this decision. Sociodemographic and work context factors can also play a role in explaining nurses’ intention to leave.

Objective

To investigate the role of sociodemographic and work context factors, including job resources, job demands, job dissatisfaction, depersonalization, and emotional exhaustion, on nurses’ intention to leave their hospital or their profession.

Design

Multicentre cross-sectional study.

Setting(s)

Eight European hospitals, two per each country, including Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, and Poland.

Participants

From May 16 to September 30, 2022, we collected 1,350 complete responses from nurses working at the selected hospitals (13 % response rate).

Methods

The intention to leave was assessed through two 5-Likert scale outcomes, agreeing with the intention to leave the profession and the intention to leave the hospital. Logistic regression models were used for statistical analysis.

Results

At the multivariable analysis, a higher intention to leave the hospital was observed for: younger age, having served on the frontline against COVID-19, lack of quipment, living in the Netherlands, emotional exhaustion, dissatisfaction with work prospects, and dissatisfaction with the use of professional abilities. There was a higher intention to leave the profession for: younger age, living in the Netherlands, having work-related health problems, depersonalization, emotional exhaustion, low possibilities of professional development, dissatisfaction with work prospects, lack of use of professional abilities, overall ob issatisfaction, and dissatisfaction with salary. Nurses living in Italy expressed the lowest intention to leave.

Conclusion

While confirming the role of job dissatisfaction and burnout, we found higher intention to leave for young nurses, nurses with work-related health problems, and caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dissatisfaction with work prospects, professional development, and salary also increased the intention to leave. We call for educators, managers, and policymakers to address these factors to retain at-risk nursing categories, implementing strategies to mitigate intentions to leave.