Job satisfaction, resilience and social support in relation to nurses' turnover intention based on the theory of planned behaviour: A structural equation modelling approach

BACKGROUND: Many national studies have shown that nurses have a high turnover rate. The key to maintaining the stability of nursing staff is to explore the factors that affect their turnover intention; however, no research has been performed to explore the influencing factors and mechanisms of nurses' turnover intention based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour. AIM: Based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour, examining the relationships among resilience, job satisfaction, social support and turnover intention of nurses, a structural equation model was constructed to examine the mediating role of job satisfaction and social support between resilience and turnover intention. METHODS: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, a total of 350 questionnaires were distributed to participants from three tertiary hospitals in Changchun, Jilin Province, between December 2018 and March 2019. RESULTS: The final model fits well. Job satisfaction and social support directly influences turnover intention. Resilience indirectly influences turnover intention through job satisfaction and social support. CONCLUSION: Turnover intention is a complex variable, which is directly and indirectly affected by many factors. In this study, a new structural equation model was proposed, which laid a foundation for future longitudinal studies.