Work interruptions and nurse turnover intention mediated by burnout.

Authors

Cong Wang, Hongfang Zhu

Published in

Frontiers in public health. Volume 14. Pages 1838436. Epub Jun 24, 2026.

Abstract

Nursing work interruptions represent common psychosocial workplace exposures that may contribute to burnout and threaten workforce stability.
A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among nurses (N = 261) working in general inpatient wards within a four-campus tertiary hospital system in Zhejiang Province, China, from 14 January to 10 February 2026. Interruptions were assessed using the Nursing Work Interruption Scale (NWIS; total score), coping resources were measured using a 26-item interruption coping resources questionnaire (total score), burnout was evaluated using the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI; 0-100 converted mean score), and turnover intention was measured using a 3-item scale (mean score). Mediation and serial mediation analyses were performed using PROCESS version 5.0 with 5,000 bias-corrected bootstrap samples.
Turnover intention demonstrated a significant positive association with interruptions (c = 0.015, p = 0.006). Burnout mediated this relationship [Model 4 indirect = 0.0155, 95% BC CI (0.0104, 0.0216); c' = -0.0006, p = 0.917]. In the serial mediation model (Model 6), interruptions were associated with lower coping resources (b = -0.3210, p < 0.001) and higher burnout (b = 0.5704, p < 0.001); coping resources were associated with lower burnout (b = -0.7034, p < 0.001); and burnout was associated with higher turnover intention (b = 0.0178, p < 0.001). Indirect effects through burnout [0.0102, 95% BC CI (0.0063, 0.0155)] and serially through coping resources and burnout [0.0040, 95% BC CI (0.0019, 0.0077)] were found to be significant. These results remained robust after adjusting for variables such as department group, years working in the hospital, and average daily patient volume [Model 6 Ind2 = 0.0100, 95% BC CI (0.0061, 0.0155); and Ind3 = 0.0035, 95% BC CI (0.0015, 0.0069)].
The findings are consistent with a conservation of resources (COR)-informed resource depletion pathway, linking interruptions to turnover intention primarily through burnout. This highlights a potential modifiable occupational health target for prevention.

PMID:
42422707
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 09 Jul 2026.

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