Missed care relates to nurse job enjoyment and intention to leave in neonatal intensive care

Abstract

Aim(s): To determine relationships among missed nursing care, job enjoyment and intention to leave for neonatal nurses.

Background: Being unable to provide required nursing care to infants could contribute to poorer neonatal nurse job outcomes, which may exacerbate staffing challenges. Little evidence exists about how missed nursing care relates to neonatal nurse job outcomes.

Method(s): The design was cross-sectional. Secondary data from the 2016 National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators Registered Nurse Survey were used, which included nurse ratings of job enjoyment, intention to leave and missed nursing care. American Hospital Association data from 2016 were used to describe hospitals. Linear and logistic regressions were calculated.

Results: There were 5,824 neonatal nurses. Mean nurse job enjoyment was 4.26 out of 6 (SD = 0.97). On average, 15% of nurses intended to leave their position. Each one unit increase in missed nursing care was associated with a 0.26 decrease in job enjoyment and a 29% increased odds of intention to leave after controlling for nursing and hospital characteristics.

Conclusions: Missed nursing care can influence nurse job enjoyment and intention to leave in neonatal care units.

Implications for nursing management: Neonatal nurse managers should address missed nursing care to improve neonatal nurse job outcomes.

Keywords: intention to leave; job enjoyment; missed nursing care; neonatal intensive care unit; nurse job outcomes.