Intention to stay of pediatric nurses: Does pediatric nurse–parent partnership and perceived stress matter?

AIMS: To explore intentions to stay of pediatric nurses and to determine how pediatric nurse-parent partnership and perceived stress differ among the subgroups. BACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION: The shortage of nurses, particularly pediatric nurses, has become a global problem. Intention to stay has been an established predictor of nurse retention. Less is known about the heterogeneity of intention to stay and the specific characteristics, which may restrict the effectiveness of prevention and interventions for pediatric nurse retention. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional online survey. A total of 603 pediatric nurses were surveyed on their pediatric nurse-parent partnership, perceived stress, and intention to stay. Latent class analysis, multinomial logistic regression, and univariate analysis were used to analyze the related factors. We followed the STROBE checklist. RESULTS: Three latent classes of intention to stay were identified: low level, moderate level, and high level. Aged between 31 and 35, higher perceived stress, contract nurse, and no spouse were associated with the low level of intention to stay. Good sensitivity in the pediatric nurse-parent partnership was associated with high level of intention to stay. Having a spouse was associated with moderate level compared with low level of intention to stay. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Our study was one of the first to show three different classes of intention to stay of pediatric nurses, and the specific sociodemographic information, perceived stress, and pediatric nurse-patient partnership associated with different classes of intention to stay were reported. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING AND/OR HEALTH POLICY: Our results informed the development of pediatric nurse support strategies. Nurse managers could consider the specific factors affecting the intention to stay and make great efforts in developing strategies and projects for different classes of intention to stay that can maximize nurse intention to stay.