Abstract
Background: Although several studies examining nurses’ turnover intentions have been conducted, few studies have been conducted to explore how COVID-19 contributes to nurses’ turnover intentions. This study aims to compare nurses’ turnover (TO) intentions before and during COVID-19. Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted using the Turnover Intention Scale (TIS-6) and a convenience sample of participants from the largest healthcare provider in Qatar between August and September 2020. Results: A total of 512 nurses were included in the final analysis. The majority were between 31 and 40 years of age (61.5%), 67.6% were females, 76.4% were married, 79.7% had a BSN, 43% had less than 5 years of experience, and 60.4% had worked in COVID-19 designated facilities. The turnover intentions were higher compared with before COVID-19 (p < 0.01). Conclusion: Nurses in Qatar have higher TO intentions during COVID-19. The participants’ characteristics and stress levels are playing a major role in nurses’ decision to leave during COVID-19. Understanding the factors that contribute to turnover intentions is crucial for workforce planning, especially during pandemics.
Highlights
Several studies examining nurses’ turnover intentions have been conducted, few studies have been conducted to explore how COVID-19 contributes to nurses’ turnover intentions
A total of 40% of the participants were working at the bedside, 40% were not deployed during the crisis, and 47% were deployed in a COVID-19 facility for less than 6 months (Table 1)
This study shows that nurses who worked in a COVID-19 facility for more than three months have a significantly higher turnover intention than those who did not work in a COVID-19 facility
Summary
Several studies examining nurses’ turnover intentions have been conducted, few studies have been conducted to explore how COVID-19 contributes to nurses’ turnover intentions. According to a recent study that examined stressors in the nursing profession during the pandemic, in which 455 nurses participated, nurses nowadays have to deal with new sources of stress, such as personal protective equipment/supplies, exposure to sars-cov and the possibility of infection [3]. A systematic review undertaken by Halter and colleagues (2017) has shown that the most strongly supported determinants are at the individual level, which are stress and burnout, job dissatisfaction, and commitment [7]. These determinants became more significant as the demand for nurses is increasing in these crucial times brought by the coronavirus. A large amount of studies proved that in pandemics such as COVID-19, nurses accumulates high stress and were at risk in developing mental health issues [8]
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