Turnover Intention among Field Epidemiologists in South Korea

The purpose of this study was to explore the level of occupational stress, job satisfaction, and turnover intention among Korean field epidemiologists, and to identify the factors that contribute to their turnover intention. We surveyed the Korean field epidemiologists in the cohort from 2016 to 2018 using the Occupational Stress Inventory, revised edition, and questionnaires developed from the Public Health Workforce Interest and Needs Survey. Fisher’s exact test was used to identify the association between sociodemographic characteristics, occupational stress, job satisfaction, and turnover intention. Overall, 17 Korean field epidemiologists participated in this study (response rate: 74%). More than half of field epidemiologists had turnover intention (53%), and it was less likely to be present in the field epidemiologists recruited from the civilian sector than those recruited from the military (adjusted odds ratio, 0.59; 95% confidence interval, 0.39–0.88). Furthermore, about two-thirds of field epidemiologists had a burden of occupational stress on Role Ambiguity (65%), and only one respondent expressed satisfaction with the job. There was no significant relation among the levels of occupational stress, job satisfaction, and turnover intention. In this study, the field epidemiologists recruited from the military were more likely to have turnover intention. Additional studies to identify possible ways to reduce turnover intention among the public health workforce are warranted.