Impacts of Nursing Work Environment on Turnover Intentions: The Mediating Role of Burnout in Ghana

BACKGROUND: The nursing practice environment supports excellence and decent work and has the influence to entice and retain the quality nursing workforce. Appreciating the dynamics that affect the turnover intention of RNs offer reasonable solutions to the challenges of the nursing shortage, which directly influence the quality of nursing care. There is a paucity of information on the impacts of these concepts among RNs in Sub-Saharan African. The study therefore aimed at determining the impacts of work environment and burnout on turnover intentions among RNs in Ghana. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional design using a simple random and proportionate stratified sampling with a sample of 232 RNs from Municipal and Regional Hospitals, Sunyani, West-Central part of Ghana completed validated instruments measuring work environment, burnout, and turnover intentions. Descriptive analysis was done to find out RNs' perceptions of their work environment and turnover intentions. Mediation analysis by Baron and Kenny's approach was used to determine the mediating effect of burnout on the relationship between the domains of PPE and the turnover intention of RNs. STROBE checklist was used as the reporting tool. RESULTS: While most RNs had a positive perception about their work environment, greater number of them had turnover intentions. There were significant associations between some nursing work environment facets and turnover intention. The results also showed a statistically significant relationship between nurse-physician relation (β = .353, t = 5.476, p ≤ .001), nurse manager leadership (β = −0.485, t = −8.192, p ≤ .001), nursing foundation for quality care (β = .400, t = 7.059, p ≤ .001), staffing and resource adequacy on (β = 0.485, t = 8.183, p ≤ .001), and turnover intention as mediated by burnout. CONCLUSION: Burnout resulting from an unsafe work environment impact RNs' turnover intention. This phenomenon can potentially affect the human resource management and quality of nursing care. Policy strategies aimed at ensuring a professional practice environment and decreased burnout can therefore improve retention of RNs at their workplace.