Commuting patterns among Italian nurses: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objectives: The study aims to describe commuting patterns among Italian nurses and to explore possible associations with nurses' intention to change job. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study carried out in central Italy. Nurses were invited to participate through a variety of public measures. Those participating completed an online questionnaire available on a website established for this specific purpose. Results: Five hundred sixty-five nurses participated. The mean distance covered every day to go to work and back home is 30.8km. A total of 43.3% of nurses cover 25km or more every day to work; 5.7% cover 100km or more. The mean time spent in commuting is 52.9min daily. Furthermore, 14.5% of nurses spend every month commuting a time equal to or longer than the working time of 1 week. The mean monthly expenditure is 87.30Euro (6% of mean salary). Nurses younger than 30 cover longer distances (P=0.0006), spend more time (P=0.001) and have higher expenditure (P=0.003) than their older colleagues. Willingness to change job seems associated with the use of public means of transportation (P=0.04). Nurses from the population under study cover longer distances, spend longer time in daily commuting and have higher monthly costs than the rest of the Italian workers' population. Conclusions: Travelling to work represents a non-negligible burden for nurses, particularly for younger nurses. Nurses seem to have lesser opportunities to rest and to recover energies than other workers. The Italian nurses' recruiting system may have a role in explaining our data. Further studies are needed to investigate the impact of nurses' commuting on the healthcare system. © 2011 The Authors. International Nursing Review © 2011 International Council of Nurses.