Intention to stay among nurses in ministry of public health, Thailand: a cross-sectional survey

Abstract

A cross-sectional survey designed to investigate intention to stay (ITS) of nurses (RNs) in public hospitals under the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) and to compare the intention to stay among nurses in various hospital types of care delivery of organizational characteristics, nurse characteristics, managerial characteristics, and work characteristics. The multi-stage sampling technique was used to recruit 1,524 nurses from in-patient units of 59 public hospitals under MOPH. Four instruments were used, namely: Nurse Characteristics and Socio-Demographic Data Form; Management Factors Questionnaire; Job Diagnostic Survey; and Intention to Stay Scales. All instruments were examined for content validity and reliability. The alpha Cronbach coefficients were .98, .96, .74 and .87, respectively. Descriptive statistics, CROSSTAB, and one-way ANOVA were used for data analysis.

The finding revealed the followings:

1. Intention to stay in profession (ITSP) was at a moderate level (Mean = 3.38, SD = .68). While, the intention to stay in current workplace (ITSW) was at a highest level (Mean = 3.88, SD = 1.02). When comparing ITS among nurses working in six hospital levels, it was found that the highest percentage of ITSP was at hospital level M1 (61.30%), and the lowest of ITSW at hospital level F2. Moreover, RNs perceived ITSW at a high-level. The highest percentage of ITSW was at hospital level F2 (72.60%) and lowest at hospital level A (61.70%).

2. A comparison of ITSP and ITSW classified by selected variables indicated the following findings:

Nurses perceived ITSP classified by marital status, working experience, job position, income, managerial characteristics, and job characteristics were statistically significantly different, at the .05 level. While, nurses' perceived ITSW regarding work position, income, working unit, hometown location, management characteristics and job characteristics were statistically significantly different, at the .05 level.

Considering ITSP among nurses who perceived different level of managerial characteristics, the post hoc test showed that nurses who perceived moderate and high managerial characteristics had a higher mean of ITSP than nurses who perceived low managerial characteristics. In addition, nurses who perceived high managerial characteristics had a higher mean score of ITSP than nurses who perceived moderate managerial characteristics. On the other hand, the post hoc test revealed that ITSW among nurses who perceived moderate and high managerial characteristics had a higher mean than those who perceived low managerial characteristics, and ITSW among nurses who perceived high managerial characteristics had a higher mean score of ITSW than nurses who perceived moderate managerial characteristics.