Job factors related to intention to quit and depressive symptoms: local base hospital nurses
METHODS: Questionnaires including job factors and the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire (BJSQ) were distributed to all nurses working at four regional center hospitals (n = 1,180). Of the 1,065 nurses who responded, 900 questionnaires were analyzed following exclusion of 165 because of missing values. The questionnaires included the query “Do you want to continue with your current hospital job?” The intention to quit was defined as positive for those who answered “want to change hospitals soon” or “want to change hospitals if possible” (vs. “want to continue with the current job” or “no opinion”). Depressive symptoms were estimated using The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D > 16). Explanatory variables were hospitals, sex, age, college degree, marital status, income, department (outpatient, inpatient, or other), position, working hours, night duty, dissatisfaction with family life, demands of job, job control, support from supervisors, support from co-workers, and support from family/friends. Logistic regression analysis was used, and all the abovementioned variables were forced into the models.
RESULTS: College degree (odds ratio 0.51: 95% confidence interval 0.28–0.92), dissatisfaction with family life (1.78: 1.14–2.78), high job demands (1.62: 1.06–2.46), low job control (2.14: 1.40–3.29), and low support from supervisors (2.59: 1.63–4.14) were significantly related to intention to quit. College degree (0.68: 0.47–0.96), 50–59, and >60 h/week working hours (1.68: 1.02–2.75; 1.88: 1.06–3.35, vs. <39 h/week), dissatisfaction with family life (3.47: 2.37–5.08), high job demands (1.69: 1.21–2.34), low job control (2.38: 1.74–3.25), low support from supervisors (1.41: 1.00–1.98), low support from co-workers (1.48: 1.05–2.09), and low support from family/friends (1.84: 1.34–2.54) were significantly related to depressive symptoms.
CONCLUSIONS: To prevent mental health problems and avoid staff quitting their jobs, actions related to increasing job control and supervisor support may have priority.