Journal of nursing management | 2021
Ward-level nurse turnover and related workplace factors in long-term care hospitals: A cross-sectional survey.
Abstract
AIM\nTo explore the association between the ward-level nurse turnover rate and the ward s organizational, patient and nurse characteristics in long-term care (LTC) hospitals.\n\n\nBACKGROUND\nNurse turnover adversely impacts not only LTC hospitals through higher recruitment and replacement costs but also resident health outcomes.\n\n\nMETHODS\nThis study employed a\xa0cross-sectional design with secondary analyses. Participants were 199 ward managers and 2,508 nurses in LTC hospitals across Japan. Data collected between September and November 2015.\n\n\nRESULTS\nThe wards with higher nurse turnover were significantly associated with a non 12-hour work shift, higher rate of patients with intravenous hyperalimentation (IVH), lower average of nurse emotional exhaustion, lower average of nurse-perceived quality of the care process, and lower rate of employment stability as the reason for choosing the workplace.\n\n\nCONCLUSIONS\nActual ward-level nurse turnover can be influenced by factors related to the organisation (e.g. shift style and employment stability), patient (e.g. patients with IVH), and nurse attributions (e.g. burnout, perceived care quality).\n\n\nIMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT\nTo minimize nurse turnover in LTC hospitals, multi-factorial ward-level interventions would be possible, such as adjusting for shift work, attending to medical procedures, or improving nurses emotional exhaustion and perceptions regarding care quality.