How Robots Help Nurses Focus on Professional Task Engagement and Reduce Nurses' Turnover Intention.

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Human-Robot Interaction
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• High nurse turnover rates pose significant challenges to healthcare systems.
• The integration of robotics in healthcare is an emerging area with potential to impact nursing practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between robot-assisted task engagement and nurses' professional turnover intention.
• To explore how robot-enabled focus on professional tasks and robot-reduced nonprofessional tasks influence nurses' job satisfaction and perceived health.

Main Methods:

• A two-wave study design was employed.
• Data were collected from 331 nurses in a Taiwanese hospital between October 2019 and February 2020.

Main Results:

• Robot-enabled focus on professional tasks positively correlated with nurses' job satisfaction and perceived health.
• Robot-reduced nonprofessional task engagement positively correlated with perceived health.
• Both job satisfaction and perceived health were negatively associated with turnover intention.

Conclusions:

• Robots can enhance nurses' health and job satisfaction by allowing them to concentrate on professional responsibilities.
• This improved well-being may lead to a reduction in nurses' intention to leave the profession.
• Introducing robots to manage nonprofessional tasks is a viable strategy for nurse retention.