Predictors of Actual Turnover Among Part-Time Homecare Nurses in Japan: A Longitudinal Study

High turnover among homecare nurses leads to nursing shortages and a decline in care quality. In Japan, part-time nurses are crucial to the workforce. However, their turnover predictors have not been extensively studied, despite the fact that they have higher turnover rates than full-time nurses. This study aims to identify factors contributing to actual turnover among part-time homecare nurses in Japan, providing insights for prevention.

This longitudinal study analyzed data from 161 part-time nurses who participated in a baseline survey in 2018 and a 2-year follow-up survey in 2020. The participants were selected from a baseline survey of 265 nurses. Data collected at baseline by homecare nurses included individual, work-related, and workplace characteristics. The outcome was nurses' turnover (left or remained) 2 years later, as reported by nurse managers. The lengths of conversations with managers and colleagues were dichotomized into "short" and "long" using the lower 25th percentile as the cut-off. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify predictors of turnover.

This study analyzed 161 part-time nurses (mean age, 46.9 years). The turnover of nurses after 2 years was 32 (19.9%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that participants with short manager/long colleague conversations were less likely to experience turnover (odds ratio: 0.11; 95% confidence interval: 0.01-0.85) than those with short conversations with managers and colleagues.

The results suggest that the combination of brief communication with managers and extended interactions with colleagues was associated with lower turnover among part-time homecare nurses.