Factors that influence the recruitment and retention of nurses in public health agencies

Abstract

Objective: Given challenges to recruiting nurses to public health and the growth in national policies focused on population health, it is crucial that public health agencies develop strategies to sustain this important group of employees. The objective of this study was to examine factors that influence nurses’ decisions to work in public health agencies. Methods: This cross-sectional study examined perspectives of nurses who worked in state and local public health departments and responded to the 2010 Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice’s survey of public health workers. We calculated the mean rating of each recruitment and retention factor for nurses and non-nurses separately and compared differences by using t tests. We then used multivariate regression analysis to examine differences in ratings by role (ie, nurse or non-nurse). Results: After controlling for personal and organizational characteristics, the influence of 5 recruitment factors was significantly stronger among nurses than among non-nurses: flexibility of work schedule (P < .001), flexibility of work schedule (P < .001), specific duties and responsibilities (P