Reasons for high turnover of nursing professionals at public hospitals in Angola

Abstract

The observed high turnover of nursing staff in some public hospitals in Luanda was assumed to give rise to staff shortages, resulting in work overload for the remaining nurses and poor service delivery. The aim of this study was to determine the reasons for the high turnover of nurses in public hospitals in the city of Luanda, and to determine the actual turnover over a two-year period.

The researcher adopted a quantitative approach with an exploratory and descriptive design, using a questionnaire for data collection from a sample of 100 respondents consisting of the Directors of Nursing, Directors of Human Resources and Heads of Departments (ward/units) in seven public hospitals.

The study found that the most common reasons for the resignation of nurses were retirement, ill health, and better remuneration and working conditions elsewhere. Lack of motivation could be ascribed to the perceived low remuneration, insufficient supplies and equipment, being overworked due to staff shortages, unsafe working environment and poor conditions of service. Recommendations were made to tackle these issues. It was however not possible to determine the actual extent of nurses resigning from the public hospitals.