When organizational models influence the intention to leave of professionals. The case of Family and Community Nurses in the Tuscan healthcare system

Abstract

Abstract Background To describe Nurses’ Intention to Leave (ITL) their job across Tuscany -Italy- after a major healthcare structural policy redesign of the community organizational care delivery model, namely the Family and Community Nurse (FCN) model. Methods In this organizational case study, we evaluate the differences in the effects on Nurses’ ITL through the comparison between non-FCNs and FCN’s answers to the region-wide administered Organizational Climate Survey (OCS) conducted in 2023, after the model’s implementation. Results A general decrease in all ITL dimensions was registered, indicating, therefore, a higher FCNs’ intention to stay. There are variations in the answers from Nurses working in different Local Health Authorities (LHAs), and it is due to the uniqueness of organizations and to the dissimilar levels of maturity of the organizational models within them. Conclusions The effects of structural policy redesign on Nurses’ ITL highlight the importance of tailored, region-specific approaches to improve Nurses’ retention in the healthcare sector, which is currently experimenting the worst Nursing shortage crisis ever.