A Cross-Sectional Survey of Swedish Primary Healthcare Nurses’ Discontent With Their Current Job

Abstract

Nursing staff turnover is an increasing problem for healthcare globally. In Sweden, the shortage of nurses in primary healthcare has increased significantly in recent years. This development is alarming because primary healthcare, both in Sweden and internationally, is responsible for a large part of healthcare. The aim of this study was to explore working conditions (change fatigue, leadership climate, and social support from colleagues) and characteristics of primary care nurses who are discontent with their current job, i.e., those with high turnover intentions and poor job satisfaction in Sweden. This was a cross-sectional survey of 466 registered nurses working in Swedish primary healthcare. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression. The results demonstrate that 21.1% of the responding nurses are discontent with their current job and have considered quitting. Being discontent had significant associations with poor leadership climate (p < 0.001), lack of social support from colleagues (p < 0.001), change fatigue (p < 0.001), poor health (p < 0.001), and working more than 40 h per week (p = 0.02). The results have implications for how healthcare organizations structure the work of nurses in primary healthcare and how they can attract and retain future staff to these workplaces.