Factors influencing Korean nurses’ intention to stay: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Purpose: To systematically review research articles that examined factors affecting Korean clinical nurses' intention to stay in their jobs. Methods: Articles related to Korean clinical nurses and published both in Korean and English languages were retrieved from computerized databases using a manual search. Data extraction, quality assessment, and analysis including meta-analysis were completed. Results: The review included 15 studies. There was strong evidence for the effects of 19 factors on Korean clinical nurses’ intention to stay. Factors were categorized into three major categories; demographic, extrinsic, and intrinsic factors. In the meta-analysis of 10 articles, career experience of more than 6 years was the main factor that led to high intention to stay (OR=-0.5, p<.001). Job performance related factors (28.1%) and nursing work environment or organizational climate for caring (21.9%) were studied as the main extrinsic factors. Job related attitude (28.1%) including job satisfaction and organizational commitment and nursing value (15.6%) were studied as the main intrinsic factors. Conclusion: Expert nurses are more likely to retain their current positions as well as quality workplace environments or psychological capitals. Healthcare organizations must be responsible for improving professional and psychological capital of beginner nurses and affecting change for a warm organizational environment.