An Exploratory Study of Psychological Distress, Professional Quality of Life, Effort-Reward Imbalance, and Turnover Intention of Hospital Nurses during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This exploratory study aimed to identify factors that may influence nurses’ turnover intentions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data were collected during January 2023 from 250 nurses and analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Scheffe, Pearson’s correlation, and multiple regression analysis. Among the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, nursing care and working with personal protective equipment significantly impacted the turnover intention. Among the independent variables, compassion satisfaction, burnout, effort–reward ratio, and psychological distress were significant, with an explanatory power of 43.3%. Among the subjects, 86.4% (216 people) showed a moderate or high burnout level because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and burnout seemed to have a significant impact on turnover intention. Therefore, to lower the turnover intention of nurses, burnout should be prevented, and managers should create an environment where nurses can receive a balanced reward for their efforts.