The Effect of Nurses' Quality of Life (QOL) and Self-Efficacy on Their Intention to Quit

Abstract

Purpose: To conduct a study of nurses to reveal the effects of quality of life (QOL) and self-efficacy on their intention to quit.
Method: A questionnaire was distributed to 625 nurses and data from the 300 nurses who responded to all of the questions were included in the study. The questionnaire was comprised of questions about the attributes of the respondents, the Japanese translation of the WHO/QOL-26 (as a measure of QOL), the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES; as a measure of self-efficacy), and the Intention to Quit Scale (as a measure of intention to quit).
Results: In a comparison by number of years of experience, nurses with three to five years of experience had the lowest QOL and GSES scores, while nurses with 20 years or more of experience had the highest scores (p<0.01). Furthermore, nurses with three to five years of experience had the highest intention to quit scores, while nurses with 20 years or more of experience had the lowest scores (p<0.05). Statistically significant correlations were observed between QOL, GSES and intention to quit (p<0.01), and the results of the categorical regression analysis indicated that QOL (physical health, social relationships), GSES (behavioral positiveness, anxiety about failure, social positioning of one's ability), and marital status significantly affected the intention to quit.
Conclusion: These results suggest the necessity to establish measures for preventing the intention to quit among mid-ranking nurses with three to five years of experience during their transitional period.