How are nurses supported to work in public hospitals until retirement age and beyond in New Zealand?

INTRODUCTION As the population ages, it is imperative that the nursing workforce remain robust and sustainable so the health needs of New Zealanders can be met. Research identifies that 40% of the nursing workforce is over 50 years. In the clinical environment, nurses face challenges with working conditions. The aim of this research was to examine the perceptions of nurses working for District Health Boards (DHBs) to see if they believed they were supported within their workplace to work until retirement age or until they left of their own choice. METHOD An initial literature review was undertaken using the electronic data bases CINAHL, Proquest and Pubmed to identify international and national perspectives of how nurses manage as they age in the workforce. A descriptive survey was undertaken to examine the thoughts and perceptions of nurses to see if they felt supported in preparation for retirement. An online survey was sent to nurses aged over 45 years and working in three DHBs in New Zealand. Data were collected from SurveyMonkey™ and analysed using thematic analysis. Themes emerged from which to identify common perspectives. FINDINGS Ninety nine responses were retrieved from approximately 3000 potential participants giving a response rate of approximately 3%. The emerging themes from the responses indicated that participants considered attention to support, education and competency expectations, work-life balance, working conditions and retirement intentions to be critical factors in their work environment. CONCLUSIONS Over 70% of participants (n=69) have indicated they do not feel supported in their preparation for retirement and it is evident that the workplace culture needs to make change so that all nurses feel supported and able to remain in the workforce as they age. Further research is recommended to identify and implement policies and interventions to address work force sustainability to ensure nurses are supported until retirement.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Nursing

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Grantor

Eastern Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2015

Author dc:creator

• Whitburn, Marie

• New Zealand
• nurses
• ageing workforce
• public hospitals
• support
• surveys

Statement dc:rights

• All rights reserved

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10652/6384

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:null:10652/6384