The Relationship between Occupational Burnout and Intention to Leave in Nurses Working in Training Hospitals in Sanandaj, Iran

Occupational burnout is one of the most common consequences of occupational stress. Nurses are orderly, caring, and motivated people before entering the nursing job, who, after encountering workplace stress and problems, tend to leave their careers. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the relationship between occupational burnout and the intention to leave in nurses working in the training hospitals of Sanandaj, Iran in 2015. In this cross-sectional research, 165 questionnaires were distributed among nurses working in different wards of training hospitals of Sanadaj selected by quota sampling (stratified). Data collection tools included occupation and demographic characteristics sheet, Maslach Job Burnout Questionnaire, and Attwod and Hinshaw intention to leave Prediction Scale. Data analysis was performed using Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis test, and Spearman’s correlation coefficient at the significance level of 0.05. In this study, the level of occupational burnout was reported at 27.4±27.33 and 25.4±21.85 in dimensions of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, respectively, which was considered moderate. Moreover, the level of occupational burnout was low in the dimension of incompetence (19.5±59.45). Mean and standard deviation of intention to leave was 3.04±0.34. Results were indicative of no significant correlation between occupational burnout and intention to leave. According to the results of the study, there was no association between occupational burnout and intention to leave.