Factors contributing to the decision to leave nursing care: a study among Swedish nursing personnel

BACKGROUND: An ageing nursing workforce raises questions of recruitment strategies and how to prevent nursing personnel from leaving their jobs. AIM: The aim of this study was to examine factors contributing to the decision to leave nursing care with special reference to work conditions related to nursing care. METHODS: This paper is based on data from a survey of nursing personnel who were employed at various county hospitals in Sweden from 1992 to 1995 (n = 1507). A self-administered questionnaire was used to identify those who had left nursing care voluntarily (n = 158) and to examine factors contributing to their decision to leave. RESULTS: Results showed that unsatisfactory salary contributed most to the nursing personnel's decision to leave, followed by lack of professional opportunities and restricted professional autonomy. CONCLUSION: The fact that nursing personnel leave because of unsatisfactory salary and lack of professional opportunities underpins the importance of making nursing more attractive in terms of financial and professional development. However, the sample size of this study was relatively small and larger studies are thus required to further investigate the importance of these factors in the decision to leave nursing care.