The Baptist Health Nurse Retention Questionnaire: A Methodological Study, Part 1.

OBJECTIVE: The purposes of this study were to develop and test the Baptist Health Nurse Retention Questionnaire (BHNRQ) and examine the importance of nurse retention factors. BACKGROUND: Multiple factors, including increasing patient acuity levels, have led to concerns regarding nurse retention. An understanding of current factors related to retention is limited. METHODS: To establish the psychometric properties of the BHNRQ, data were collected from 279 bedside nurses at a 391-bed, Magnet® redesignated community hospital. A principal component analysis was conducted to determine the subscale structure of the BHNRQ. Additional analyses were conducted related to content validity and test-retest reliability. RESULTS: The results of the principal components analysis revealed 3 subscales: nursing practice, management, and staffing. Analyses demonstrate that the BHNRQ is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring nurse retention factors. CONCLUSION: The BHNRQ was found to be a clinically useful instrument for measuring important factors related to nurse retention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]