Magnitude of job satisfaction and intention to leave their present job among nurses in selected federal hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Job dissatisfaction issues and health workers’ intention to leave is an increasing problem that threatens the function of the health care sector worldwide, especially in developing countries, including Ethiopia. As part of future evidence, this study was intended to assess nurses’ job satisfaction and intention to leave their current work and its associated factors in federal public hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. METHOD: An institutional based cross-sectional study design was used to conduct the study. A simple random sampling technique was employed to select 408 nurses from selected federal hospitals in Ethiopia. Self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. Logistic regression was employed to identify the predictor variables with consideration of statistical significance at P <0.05 adjusted odds ratios calculated at 95% CIs. RESULT: The magnitudes of job satisfaction and intention to leave their current job among nurses in this study were 47.7% and 80.6%, respectively. Salary is imbalanced with demands [AOR = 2.85 (1.24, 6.57)], managers who have no personal plan for developing skills [AOR = 3.74 (1.58, 8.87)], stressful jobs [AOR = 0.28 (0.11, 0.71)], health problems are a reason for having thoughts about changing jobs [AOR = 3.02 (1.17, 7.79)], and a lack of development [AOR = 4.13 (1.51, 11.3)] were identified as determinant factors for intention to leave. CONCLUSION: The overall intention to leave their current job among nurses working in selected federal hospitals in Ethiopia was high. The government of Ethiopia should balance the salary of nurses with the current market level. Hospital leaders should plan the way nurses develop their educational and job carrier levels.