Factors Influencing Retention Intention of Nurses at Long-term Care Hospitals in Korea
Abstract Purpose This study aimed to investigate the levels and correlations of role conflict, nursing professionalism, nursing work environment and retention intention, and the factors influencing retention intention of nurses at long-term care hospitals. Methods The subjects included 183 nurses at nine long-term care hospitals in one metropolitan city in Korea. A set of self-reported questionnaires was administered to assess general characteristics, role conflict, nursing professionalism, nursing work environment, and retention intention of the subjects. Collected data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficients, and multiple linear regression. Results 183 subjects with a mean (±SD) age of 41.66 (±12.29) years were included in the final analyses. Retention intention had a significant positive correlation with nursing professionalism (r=.39, p<.001) and nursing work environment (r=.51, p<.001). Nursing work environment had a significant negative correlation with role conflict (r=-.30, p<.001) and a significant positive correlation with nursing professionalism (r=.48, p<.001). In the final multiple regression analysis, the factors influencing retention intention of subjects were number of beds (β=-.15 p<.026), nursing professionalism (β=.19, p=.007) and nursing work environment (β=.36, p<.001). The explanatory power of number of beds, nursing professionalism and nursing work environment on retention intention was 34.0% (F=16.66, p<.001). Conclusion Improving nursing professionalism and nursing work environment of nurses at long-term care hospitals will ultimately enhance their retention intention and positively impact on the quality of gerontological nursing service.
