Nearly 45 per cent of health-care workers in Canada plan to retire within the next five years, with a new study identifying burnout and a lack of support as major contributors.
The report, authored by social work professor Nazim Habibov, PhD candidate Alena Auchynnikava, and Trent University mathematics professor Yunhong Lyu, examines factors affecting job retention among health-care workers during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Based on a nationwide survey, it highlights deteriorating working conditions, declining health and well-being, and insufficient organizational support as key factors driving workers to leave the field.
The pandemic significantly reduced job retention, which has been linked to lower patient care quality, higher mortality rates, and increased medical errors. This also escalated costs associated with hiring and training new staff, the study notes.
"Initially we thought the strongest determinant would be salary, and while it's still a significant predictor that those making the highest income are ready to stay longer, we found that a lack of professional support and emotional support is the strongest indicator," Dr. Habibov said.
"People are burning out at work and feel their organizations aren't providing the support they need. As a result, many are considering less stressful jobs that offer better support."
This is the first study to analyze nationally representative data on job retention in Canada, confirming previous findings and further investigating why health-care workers are planning to leave and how it can be addressed.
Habibov's team's recent research examines access to health care, the factors that hinder it, and the resulting health-care outcomes.
Canada has been experiencing growing health-care worker shortages, and according to the study, this can be attributed to a combination of supply factors such as caps on expenditures for training students in family care and nursing, as well as restrictions on internationally trained graduates, and demand factors such as the growing aging population.
The pandemic only exacerbated the situation.
With upcoming national and provincial elections, Habibov says he expects health-care issues, particularly the retention of health-care workers, to be one of the top priorities since the shortage of health-care personnel in Canada and Ontario is evident.
According to the report, only 14 per cent of Canadians have easy access to a doctor, while 50 per cent have struggled to find a family doctor within a week.
The Ontario College of Family Physicians also released data estimating that 2.5 million people in the province are without a primary care provider, with the numbers expected to grow.
According to Habibov's team, dealing with a shortage of workers, subsequent changes in working conditions, and a lack of support are associated with a lower likelihood of job retention.
"The consequences of the COVID experience aren't necessarily visible right now," Habibov said. "When people decide to change careers, they prepare carefully. So even if they aren't retiring en masse immediately after the pandemic, the issue persists they're just making plans to leave."
Given the impact health-care worker retention will continue to have on the industry, Habibov said changes will be necessary, starting with recruitment.
"After receiving an education, people will go in different directions. So how can we ensure that they will want to stay in public health care? These interventions must be targeted, and we will need to continue to monitor the situation," he said.
Intervention suggestions include training health-care managers to recognize deteriorating physical and mental health, as well as educating staff on promoting their well-being.
"When we look at the literature, we find there are many different ways to organize the help these workers seek," Habibov noted. "For example, mindfulness programs, psychological support programs, and changing up management style to be more inclusive rather than top-down because that can alienate workers."
Habibov emphasizes the need for strategic policy changes and long-term planning to address the health-care worker shortage.
"I would like to see changes in policy, and what I mean by that is carefully orchestrated steps rather than one quick fix," he said. "The first step is admitting a problem exists, then moving toward a coordinated solution."
