Factors that Affect North Carolina Public Health Nutritionists Decision to Change Employment Status

A questionnaire was developed to identify factors that were contributing to turnover of public health nutritionists employed in local agencies in a decentralized state public health system. One hundred twenty-two nutritionists responded to a confidential questionnaire sent to them upon notification they were leaving their current employment. The questionnaire asked nutritionists to identify all factors that contributed to their leaving and to choose and rank the top five reasons. Open-ended questions solicited information about working conditions at the local agency, what the nutritionist liked best about their position, if they would recommend the position to a friend or colleague and if they would return at a later date. The top main reasons for leaving were: moving to another city 16.4%, return to school 15.6%, Inadequate pay/fringe benefits 15.6%, child care, child bearing, other domestic reasons 11.5%, and advancement or lack of opportunity for advancement 8.2%. Seventy five percent would recommend the position to someone else and 57% would consider returning to the position. A review of contributory factors that lead these nutritionists to leave their positions correspond to the factors identified in the literature as job satisfiers and dissatisfies. These results indicate there are issues that can be addressed by nutrition program managers to slow down turnover among this highly mobile professional group.