Factors affecting Iranian nurses’ intention to leave or stay in the profession during the COVID‐19 pandemic

Abstract

Aim This study was conducted to explore the factors affecting nurses’ intentions to leave or stay in their profession during the coronavirus pandemic in Iran. Introduction Because the effectiveness of a healthcare response to a disaster depends on an available, skilled, and motivated healthcare workforce, it is essential to understand and address potential barriers to and reasons for the intentions of medical staff to leave or stay in their profession. Methods A qualitative study with a conventional content analysis approach was conducted. The participants included nurses working in hospitals during the COVID‐19 pandemic, and nurses who had previously left their job or had been absent from work for a period of time. The participants were selected using a purposeful sampling strategy. Data were collected through 19 in‐depth, individual semi‐structured interviews with 16 nurses. The COnsolidated criteria for REporting Qualitative research checklist was used to report the study. Findings Three categories; commitment and work conscience (with a subcategory of risk‐taking), fear (with two subcategories of fear of family infection and fear of protective equipment shortages), and organizational factors (with two subcategories of organizational atmosphere of the hospital and motivational factors), emerged from the analysis. Conclusion The reasons for quitting a nursing job or to keep working as a nurse during the pandemic include both personal and organizational factors. Commitment and work conscience in pandemic conditions is one of the main factors for keeping nurses in their profession. Implication for nursing practice and policy Gaining insight into nurses’ understanding of the situation and perspectives is the key to being able to provide appropriate support and keep them in the workforce. Peer support can play an important role in supporting novice nurses in facing challenges posed by a pandemic and should be improved. Also, programs and strategies need to be planned to improve resilience among nurses and to help them to manage their stress and fear.

Association Between Dimensions of Professional Burnout and Turnover Intention Among Nurses Working in Hospitals During Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic in Iran Based on Structural Model

“…The present study results also showed that turnover intention had a positive and significant correlation with job satisfaction. These results align with those of the study conducted by Varasteh et al ( 18 ). Job motivation, job satisfaction, and perceived organizational support are the predictors of nurses' tendency to leave their jobs ( 19 ).…”

“…Turnover intention is one of the negative consequences of fatigue on HCWs. It is a common issue among nurses locally and internationally ( 18 ). In the last decade, the shortage of nurses has been a serious concern in most of the countries.…”

Predictors of Depression in Nurses During COVID-19 Health Emergency; the Mediating Role of Resilience: A Cross-Sectional Study

“… 47 It is also suggested that, despite fear of infection, one of the reasons for staying and accepting risks in a resilient or altruistic manner is a sense of commitment and awareness as a nursing professional. 48 In view of this, to mitigate the depression and fear of nurses, it is important to improve their working conditions, favoring the allocation of resources, and better living conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

Health Services and Patient Satisfaction in IRAN during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Methodology Based on Analytic Hierarchy Process and Artificial Neural Network

“…Availability consists of such indicators as adequate numbers of nurses, physicians, and equipment (Batbaatar et al 2017). There is less than one nurse present for every hospital bed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has increased the nursing shortage to 0.7-0.8 (Varasteh et al 2021). Oppel et al (2017) reported that a lower rate of problems in terms of physician shortages was significantly associated with higher levels of patient satisfaction (Batbaatar et al 2017).…”