Factors influencing healthcare workers' intention to leave during COVID-19: A systematic review in middle- and low-income countries

BackgroundIntention to leave (ITL) of health workers is a challenging issue for health organizations. This systematic review was conducted to identify the factors influencing health worker ITL during COVID-19 in middle- and low-income countries.MethodThe current systematic review study was conducted in 2023 according to PRISMA guidelines. The relevant keywords were searched in Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed databases between 1 January 2020 and 30 August 2023. The quality of studies was assessed by the JBI checklist.ResultsOf the 275 papers, 47 articles were eligible. Most of the studies were conducted in Iran and China (n = 8). The sample size ranged from 88 to 2480 participants, and the target population of most studies were nurses (N = 29). The ITL rate reported ranged from 9 to 63.4%. The factors affecting ITL were divided into four categories: individual, psychological, social, and organizational. Most of the factors were related to the organizational dimension. Age, job stress, social support, workload, and working hours were the most important factors in each dimension.ConclusionThe findings of this study provide a roadmap for planning interventions to reduce the rate of ITL and maintain committed employees in the current crisis or similar crises in the future.