Current status and contributing factors towards continued retention of foreign nurses under the Economic Partnership Agreement

Abstract

The number of Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) foreign nurses who have passed the national nursing examination and are still working at medical facilities in Japan, and in what capacity, remains unclear. Therefore, this study's purpose was to clarify the EPA foreign nurses' status and the factors influencing their continued employment at Japanese medical facilities. This study targeted 344 EPA foreign nurses who had passed the examination between the 97th nursing examination in 2008 and the 107th nursing examination in 2018. The research design employed a self-reported questionnaire using Facebook and Google Forms. Demographic characteristics and other factors were assessed using items related to recognition, support/resources, work engagement, degree of satisfaction, and status of employment continuation. Of 74 EPA foreign nurses whose questionnaires were complete, 51 (68.9%) continued to work and 23 (31.1%) did not. A chi-square test of the status of employment continuation, demographic characteristics, and other variables found significant differences with respect to nationality, age breakdown, and gender. Being Vietnamese, being younger than 30 years, and being male were significantly associated with continued working. Furthermore, a chi-square test of the status of employment continuation and support/resources indicated that there was a significant difference between the status of employment continuation and rent subsidy; that is, those who received a rent subsidy continued to work. A binomial logistic regression analysis also revealed a significant difference in support/resources. This study clarifies the current realities of EPA foreign nurses in Japan. It reveals that support/resources affect EPA foreign nurses' continued employment, and we provide suggestions for retaining their employment.