International Journal of Nursing

The Impact of Work Stress on Turnover Intentions among Palliative Care Nurses in Saudi Arabia
Eman Miligi, Sitah Alshutwi, Maysoon Alqahtani

Abstract
Palliative care nurses are vulnerable to work stress because their role involves continuous exposure to deaths and family grief. Despite the importance of research on work stress among nurses, there is limited available information about work stress and turnover intention among palliative care nurses. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the impact of work stress on turnover intention among 126 palliative care nurses using a descriptive correlational design. A majority of the nurses had three or fewer years of experience. More than 60% of the nurses reported high and moderate levels of intentions to leave the workplace. Further, turnover intention was significantly correlated with work-stress (r = 0.288, P < 0.01; 2-tailed). A stressful work environment can lead to multiple negative consequences. Therefore, more attention must be paid to palliative care nurses because they are at a higher risk for work stress and turnover intention. Work-related strains can lead to many negative consequences including high rates of turnover among nurses. Nurse Managers can use these findings to make informed decisions about improving the work environment and devising strategies to reduce stress among nurses.

Full Text: PDF     DOI: 10.15640/ijn.v6n2a8