Abstract
Background
Professional practice environment supports excellence and decent work and has the influence to entice and retain quality-nursing workforce. In high-resourced settings, significant number of studies exist to prove that professional practice environment with low levels of burnout play important role in enhancing patients’ and staff job outcomes. Appreciating the dynamics that affect turnover intention of nurses offer reasonable solutions to the challenges of nursing shortage, which directly influence quality of nursing care. Few studies undertaken on the subject in Ghana, however focused on miners, workers in the hotel industry, and worker telecommunication. There is evidently paucity of information on the impacts of nursing practice environment on turnover intentions among nurses in Sub-Saharan African. The study therefore aimed at determining the predictors of turnover intentions among nurses in Ghana.
Methods
A cross-sectional approach using a simple random and proportionate stratified sampling with a sample of 232 nurses completed validated instruments measuring work environment, burnout and turnover intentions. Descriptive and regression analysis were done on the various variables.
Results
While most nurses had positive perception about their work environment, greater number of them had turnover intentions. There was also significant associations between nursing work environment facets and turnover intention. The age of the nurse, years in nursing and the personal accomplishment of the nurse were significant predictors of turnover intentions of the nurse.
Conclusion
Burnout in any dimension results from unhealthy workplace; and unduly influences nurses’ turnover intention. This phenomenon can potentially affect the human resource management and the consequentially poor quality of nursing care provided to patients. Ensuring positive work setting and reduced burnout can therefore improves retention of nurses at their workplace.
Measuring hospital staff nurses perception on quality of the professional practice environment
