Tendency to migrate among Iranian nurses.

BACKGROUND

Nurse shortage have become an international healthcare crisis. The migration of nursing professionals from developing countries enlarges nurse shortages, which harms the standard of healthcare in their home nations. This study aimed to investigate the tendency to migrate and the influencing factors among nurses in Shiraz, Iran.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2023 on nurses working in public hospitals in Shiraz. A total of 595 nurses were selected through stratified random sampling. The data were collected using a researcher-designed questionnaire. The data were analyzed using t-tests, ANOVA, correlation analysis and ordinal logistic regression through STATA v.17.

RESULTS

The results revealed that 63.96% of nurses expressed a high tendency to migrate. According to the estimates of ordinal logistic model, nurses’ migration tendency had a positive and significant relationship with the level of nurses’ education, hospital specialization (OR = 2.22 and 2.11 for Burn and Orthopaedics hospitals, respectively), having a plan to change job (OR = 2.68), and spouse’s income (OR = 2.23). On the other hand, being married (OR = 0.42), satisfaction with the nursing profession (OR = 0.51), and the adequacy of nurses in the ward (0.65) showed a negative relationship with the tendency to migrate among nurses.

CONCLUSIONS

The high level of tendency to migrate among nurses in Iran highlights a serious challenge for the Iran’s healthcare system. This study demonstrated that multiple factors play a role in nurse tendency for migration. The retention of nursing staff and migration prevention require evidence-based policies and interventions to enhance their workplace conditions, adequate staffing, job satisfaction, and professional development opportunities.

CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER

Not applicable.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12912-025-03755-w.