With Amy Witkoski Stimpfel PhD, RN
Kathryn Leep-Lazar BSN, RN

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Published on 01 October 2024

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The power of support and mental well-being

Kathryn Leep-Lazar and Amy Witkoski Stimpfel conducted a study during the height of the pandemic to understand what characteristics of a nurse’s work environment and mental health would predict whether they intended to stay in their role.

Their research shows that strong organizational support and colleague support are the most powerful predictors of nurses planning to stay while depressive symptoms are linked to nurses planning to leave.

Can you summarize your research in two sentences in a way that a non-researcher could understand?
We surveyed nurses across 36 states to evaluate both pandemic context and general nurse work environment factors as they related to nurses’ intent to stay in their jobs. Our results showed that organizational support and depressive symptoms among nurses were significant predictors of intent to stay or leave. 

Why is your research important to nursing?
Our paper used a theoretical framework to prospectively investigate the multiple pathways that influence nurse outcomes (i.e., intent to stay). Retaining nurses in the workforce is critical to ensuring adequate staffing and care of patients and families. One of our key findings was that greater depressive symptoms are associated with decreased intent to stay. Consideration of healthcare workers' mental health is top of mind of the US Surgeon General and other groups as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. Our research adds to the evidence that nurses need additional support for their mental health.

Did anything surprise you about your findings?
Organizational support and colleague support were more powerful predictors of intent to stay than pandemic contextual factors, including taking care of COVID-19 patients, availability of PPE when working in isolation settings, and organizational preparedness for the pandemic. This was slightly surprising considering that the data was gathered during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. This suggests that even in this post-pandemic era, healthcare organizations should be actively working to provide support to their nursing staff and create work environments in which nurses can support each other to improve retention.  

What advice do you have for organizations to help keep their nurses on staff?
Organizational support was one of two key predictors of our sample’s intent to stay in their jobs. Perceived organizational support (i.e., how much nurses perceive that an organization values their well-being and contribution) can include healthy work environments, recognition and rewards, and professional development opportunities. These are all examples of strategies organizations can employ to keep their nurses on staff.  The other significant predictor identified in our study as negatively associated with intent to stay—depressive symptoms—is a highly treatable and common condition that organizations can and often already do support through employer-sponsored healthcare benefits, EAP, etc. Additionally, there is some conceptual overlap between depressive symptoms and workplace burnout, so organizations should work to minimize environmental factors leading to workplace burnout.

Why are you passionate about your research topic?
We are both passionate about the topics of work environment and nurses’ health and well-being. First, we believe that as the largest group of healthcare providers and those with the greatest degree of direct patient care, they warrant attention and resources to support their health and well-being. Second, our research, guided by occupational health psychology theory, suggests that organizations hold the greatest potential for improvement in work environments. 


Amy Witkoski Stimpfel, PhD, RN, is an assistant professor at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing and the Program Director of the doctoral training program in occupational and environmental health nursing. She is a member of Sigma’s Alpha Nu and Xi Chapters.

Kathryn Leep-Lazar, BSN, RN, is a doctoral student at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing. She is a member of Sigma’s Upsilon Chapter.

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