Study on the associated factors of turnover intention among emergency nurses in China and the relationship between major factors

•In Chongqing, China, emergency nurses have a strong intention to quit.•Single emergency nurses may have a stronger willingness to quit than married ones.•Work stress may affect emergency nurses' perceptions of job in many ways.•Improved emergency nurses’ perceived organization support may reduce quit intention. In China, the demand for emergency medical services is increasing. However, there is a shortage of nurses and a high turnover rate. The study has three purposes: (1) to investigate the turnover intention of emergency nurses in China; (2) to analyze the associated factors of turnover intention; and (3) to clarify the relationship between work stress, job burnout, perceived organization support, job satisfaction and turnover intention. A cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate 56 hospitals with independent emergency departments in Chongqing. A total of 522 emergency nurses were included. Descriptive statistics, One-way analysis of variance, Pearson correlated analysis and a mediation regression analysis were used to analyze the turnover intention, associated factors, and the relationship between the major study variables. The score of turnover intention was 2.38 ± 0.57, and the proportion of nurses with high turnover intention was 40.61%. Age, working years in emergency department (ED), marital status, employment forms, professional title, promotion opportunities, weekly working hours, monthly night shifts and exposure to workplace violence during the year influenced turnover intention of emergency nurses. Work stress and job burnout were positively correlated with turnover intention (r = 0.189, r = 0.391), while perceived organization support and job satisfaction were negatively correlated with turnover intention (r = − 0.349, r = − 0.485). perceived organization support plays a mediating role between work stress and job burnout, between work stress and job satisfaction, and between work stress and turnover intention. Work stress, job burnout, perceived organization support and job satisfaction are important associated factors of emergency nurses' turnover intention in China. It is suggested to take intervention measures to reduce work stress and job burnout and to improve perceived organization support and job satisfaction.