A cross-sectional study on nurse turnover intention and influencing factors in Jiangsu Province, China

BACKGROUND: Nurses' turnover has been a major concern globally, which is strongly influenced by nurses' intent to leave. However, only a few large sample studies on the predictive factors associated with nurses’ turnover intention were conducted in Jiangsu Province. This study mainly aims to examine the level and factors that influence nurses to leave their work in Jiangsu Province of Eastern China. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of 1978 nurses was conducted at 48 hospitals in 14 key cities throughout Jiangsu Province. The turnover intention in nurses was measured by the scale of intent to leave the profession. The work environment of nurses was measured by the Chinese version of the Practice Environment Scale. A multiple linear regression model was applied to analyse the factors associated with turnover intention. RESULTS: The resignation rate of nurses in the hospitals of Jiangsu Province ranged from 0.64% to 12.71% in 2016.The mean scores were 15.50 ± 3.44 for turnover intention, and 3.06 ± 0.51 for work environment. Involvement in hospital affairs, resource adequacy, age, professional title, year(s) working, employment type and education level were the predictors of nurse intent to leave(P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The work environment of nurses in hospitals must be improved in staffing and resource and nurses’ involvement in hospital affairs. The current study corroborates that nurses have high turnover intention. Thus, effective measures are needed to improve nurse accomplishment, professional status, participation in hospital affairs and career planning to reduce their turnover intention.