Relationship between compassion fatigue, medical narrative ability, and retention intention among nurses: a cross-sectional multi-center study

Background In recent years, due to the increase in care demands caused by population aging and the rise in nurse-patient conflicts, the retention intention of nurses has become an urgent global issue, as high turnover rates pose significant challenges to healthcare systems around the world. Therefore, this study will explore nurses’ retention intention and the associated factors. Methods This multi-center cross-sectional study recruited 1,831 nurses from eight hospitals across China between January and February 2024 through convenience sampling. Data collection was conducted using online surveys. The questionnaire was divided into four sections: the sociodemographic questionnaire, the Chinese Questionnaire for Nurse Intention to Remain Employed (C-QNIRE), the Medical Narrative Ability Scale (MNAS), and the Chinese version of Compassion Fatigue Short Scale (C-CF-Short Scale). We utilized descriptive statistics, normality test, one-way ANOVA, t -tests, Pearson correlation analysis, and multiple linear regression analysis. Results The results of this study showed that the total score of nurses' retention intention was 22.79 ± 3.71. The Multiple linear regression results showed that compassion fatigue ( β = −0.334, p < 0.001), medical narrative ability ( β = 0.250, p < 0.001), age (46–60 years) ( β = 0.143, p < 0.001), age (41–45 years) ( β = 0.121, p < 0.001), age (36–40 years) ( β = 0.107, p < 0.001), age (31–35 years) ( β = 0.093, p < 0.001), working week (>50 h) ( β = −0.096, p < 0.05), working week (46–50 h) ( β = −0.071, p < 0.05), working week (40–45 h) ( β = −0.070, p < 0.05), how many night shifts a month (>8) ( β = −0.062, p < 0.05) were the main associated factors of nurses' retention intention, explaining 27.0% of the total variation. Conclusion This study indicated that nurses demonstrate a moderate retention intention. Nursing administrators and educators should address this issue by proactively introducing strategies to reduce compassion fatigue and improve narrative medicine ability among nursing staff. Such initiatives can positively impact nurses’ retention intention, thereby reducing the turnover of skilled nursing personnel. This is essential for effective management of nursing human resources and enhancing the overall quality of nursing care.