Nurses' intention to quit: NITQ : Development of a measuring instrument

Abstract: For decades, researchers have shown interest in nurses' intention to quit. Studies reveal that 17-54% of all nurses have an intention of leaving their workplace and longitudinal studies have found a significant relation between the intention and quitting. With a global shortage of nurses and an increasing need for care, the situation is critical. Results of meta-analyses show a myriad of underlying factors, loss of joint effort and a missing synthesis of measuring instruments. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate a multidimensional instrument that measures nurses' intention to quit. 33 articles were reviewed and used to construct a 50-item questionnaire. Ten areas were found relevant: demographic, career, wages, schedule/working hours, organization, manager, work environment, work climate, health, and intention to quit. Each area became a dimension, a subscale to measure causes behind nurses' intention to quit. A questionnaire survey was conducted at a hospital in central Sweden (n = 114). The results reveal that the constructed scale Nurses’ intention to quit (NITQ) has good internal consistency (.82 - .85). Each subscale correlates well and is significant with the variable intention to quit and a standard multiple regression was statistically significant through the whole model (F (8,105) = 27,10, p < .001), explaining a variance of 67,4% in the dependent variable intention to quit. The results indicate that NITQ fulfills its purpose as a measuring instrument finding nurses’ intention to quit as well as the underlying factors which give rise to the thoughts of quitting.