53. The effects of occupational commitment and organizational commitment on turnover intention in nurses: an exploratory study (160)

Assunta Tinelli, Department of Psychology, University of Bari (ITALY), BARI, Italy
Co authors: Michela Cortini
a.tinelli@psico.uniba.it

Abstract:

Background:

The recent International literature on health professions is more and more interested in the role work commitment plays as a factor that influences turnover decision of nurses. This last phenomenon, according to the International Council of Nursing Report (Wright, 2003), concerns a growing number of Europeans hospiltals, in terms of social, National health services, and organizational costs. The psychological literature divides between occupational commitment (Blau, 2000; Blau et al., 2003; Lee et al., 2000; Hackett et al, 2001; Meyer et al., 1993) and organizational commitment (Porter, 1979; Meyer e Allen, 1996), coinceived, both of them, as the best predictors of turnover intention (Blau, 2000; Brooks e Swailes, 2002).

Aim:

The aim of the study is to explore the relationship between occupational commitment and organizational commitment, and their effects on turnover intention. We have decided to introduced also the occupational committment as a variable, standing that the majority of European hospitals, and especially the Italian ones, without any differencies in terms of public or private sector, seem to suffer from turn over intention and decision in the nursing personnel.

Methods:

We run 4 focus groups discussions with 20 nurses (recruited in two private hospitals and two public hospitals in Southern Italy), having as focus working conditions, sutisfaction, committment, and turn over intentions and decisions. The data have been transcribed and analysed according to both content and discorse analysis by the aid of the software T- Lab (Lancia, 2004).

Conclusions:

Our results are consistent with the International literature in suggesting that commitment plays an important role in terms of turn over intentions and decisions and in distinguishing between Occupational Commitment and Organizational Commitment. The data, in addition, underline some preventive factors the poster will present, with the results of the above mentioned discourse and content analysis.